There Where When Is Now, Book 2
by TokehGecko
Summary: The sequel to the first Book. This story begins five years later, after the end of Book 1. The Akatsuki's true plans revealed! Kyuubi and Shukaku fight Gaara and Naruto, Chapter 23 is up! COMPLETED!
1. Adjustments Torn

Naruto – The Anime Series

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: This starts about five years later, after the end of Book 2… So you can expect certain people above, equal and just below a Jounin level. I think you should've read Book 1 before you read this one… But even if you haven't, I think you can figure out what happened in Book 1 as you read through this… I think…

And thanks for the many reviews for Book 1!!!

**There Where When is Now Book 2**

- Chapter 1: Old Times

It was five years ago when Naruto, Sasuke and Neji were abducted from Leaf Village and Gaara was abducted from the Sand Village. No one knew where they could be and who they were with… or even if all of them were even alive… 

'This is just too tiresome… '

Throughout the years Leaf Village had not changed most things. Genins were supposed to be made today and the Hokage had summoned all Jounins to her office in the Hokage Tower. Shikamaru and Lee were amongst them. Tsunade had appointed several students to them and today would be the first day they would meet their little students. Shikamaru didn't really feel exceptionally happy today. Lee, however, was as giddy as ever. It even made Tsunade bark at him to quit the cheering.

Three teams would be made. Shikamaru, Lee and Ten-Ten, which was to many people a surprise, were among the Jounin instructors. Shikamaru had proven time and time again that his intelligence lay beyond that of the average Jounin. And Lee showed that his determination could bring him everywhere, he could very well equal his former sensei, Gai Maito. Then there was Ten-Ten, Lee's former team mate. She had improved herself so much and was the village's weapon specialist, even having created an absolute defence using her weapons. 

Lee knew who his students were going to be. He knew one by name, who was Hyuga Hanabi. Hinata's little sister and the one who had a lot of potential. Lee had spoken to Hinata to know more about her. He had learned of the growth Hinata had gone through these last few years and knew Hinata had become a very powerful Hyuga. The other two students he did not really know, Gekkou Toji and Morino Ujin. Knowing their last names was sufficient for Lee anyway…

Shikamaru did not even bother to gather more information about his students. His observation skills were formidable as he could easily read people, thus he would find out in minutes how his students really were. Aoba Ruin, Moegi and Konohamaru Sarutobi. Kensu didn't have a last name, or so it seemed. Shikamaru simply didn't care enough to find out.

Ten-Ten didn't know her students, like Shikamaru, either. Udon, Kensu and Enola Mohe. Udon and Kensu were guys, while Enola was a girl. Ten-Ten was very enthusiastic about this new job of hers. She would make her students the strongest Genins ever… if they'll pass the test…

The Hokage had simply ordered to do the same as the previous Genin selections. To force the students to work together no matter what. So in other words, Tsunade was too lazy to think of another way of selecting new Genins. 

Of course there were many teams with future Genins, but only nine would be chosen…

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A Mercenary group is what they have become. They've slain many people throughout the years and the kills weren't getting to him anymore. In their group there was no so-called leader. Someone suggested a plan for a mission and sometimes the others agreed, usually they didn't. They all got to know one another a lot better. 

Naruto even understood how Itachi's mind worked now. He could kind of understand why Itachi did what he did, though not entirely. Then there was the aggressive Kisame, who was, once in a while, a little more friendly. He understood why he acted that way too. All of them talked to each other. Mokito kind of reminded him of Lee, only Mokito could be a true bitch at times. Sinobi simply was a nice guy, but at some times he could go completely berserk and launch all of his attacks at one time. It was a real pain to the mission they had once he went berserk. The fact that electricity was surrounding him wasn't helping. Dareda was a very silent man, but truly kind, especially to Neji. He explained why he left Leaf Village and joined the Akatsuki.. 

The Akatsuki, was an organization that fell apart. A few members roamed the lands, still on the hunt for the former Akatsuki members. The Akatsuki Leader was still hoping to rebuild the Akatsuki and once the former members were dead, he could restart and no one would know his secrets.

Neji opened up to people more, but had a very harsh way of putting people down. Once on a mission, Neji was totally dedicated to it. He was the one next to Gaara who actually immediately killed the person, without playing around with him or her. Neji had improved his own skills a great deal and if someone were to fight him, it would take a lot to actually hit him. 

Gaara had gotten worse… He enjoyed killing and did get straight to the point. Once in a while, though… he tore limbs apart before the person was actually dead. And he wore a very gleeful smile performing his deadly skills. It actually gave Kisame the chills..

Naruto remembered his own first kill… Itachi forced him to kill that day. But he didn't blame him, he actually enjoyed it. Like getting something back he lost a long time ago. Mishu Usadi was the one he had to kill. 

On that faithful night, Gaara and Neji came along. Gaara just for safety, or maybe to just observe and Neji because he had his Sanmai no Jutsu. Itachi went with them to give orders. Mishu was sitting on the edge of a small river, deep in thought. Naruto watched the expression on her face as Neji was busy moving his Chakra with the Sanmai no Jutsu. The expression she wore was that of an innocent young, pretty girl who was remembering what seemed like awful thing that happened in her past. Naruto saw she was a sad person. Through the few years she had trained him, he started to get to know her a lot better than most people. And now Itachi had given him the mission to kill her. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------Flashback--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sanmai no Jutsu!!"

That was the sign, so Itachi had planned. Naruto rushed forward to stand face to face with Mishu.

"Naruto-kun?" Mishu questioned as she felt a lot of Chakra ripped from her. "What are you doing?"

Naruto's expression softened as he looked at her. "I'm so.. I'm so sorry, Mishu-chan…" Naruto's eye colour changed to red and he glared at her, before her terrible shriek filled the silent night…

------------------------------------------------------------------End Flashback----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto had never asked Itachi why she had to die but he could easily venture a guess. Mishu Usadi was very strong woman. Even Itachi feared her a bit, since she could summon two summon Bosses at once. A trait Naruto took over from her. But Itachi didn't seem to fear Naruto as he could now do the same. So that certain perspective could be wrong. 

Naruto didn't dare to summon GamaBunta anymore, since he would know the look on his face when he would see Naruto. He could imagine GamaBunta asking him: "What the hell happened to you?!" 

And any form of cooperation could be forgotten, since GamaBunta simply couldn't understand Naruto. Naruto didn't even need GamaBunta anymore, since he had a lot of other summonings now, thanks to someone he had so harshly killed.

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As the years passed, Tsunade had listed Naruto, Sasuke and Neji as missing-nins. The new Hokage of the Sand had listed Gaara as a missing-nin as well. A few days ago, Tsunade saw Kakashi's hunting team come back empty-handed once again. She than made the decision to leave it to the hunter-nins and gave the Jounins other missions, missions where they could actually succeed in. Jiraiya's team would come back soon as well. She would tell that team the same thing. 

More terrifying, were the rumours that had spread throughout the lands. The Akatsuki was no more, or maybe all members had left and went on their merry way, occasionally visiting villages and killing its inhabitants. But another rumour was a new Mercenary group. A very successful one at that. She had already sent a Chuunin Team to investigate. Most Mercenary Groups weren't very powerful so Chuunins would be sufficient, or so Tsunade figured. The Chuunin team's leader was Hyuga Hinata, and her subordinates were Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, Inuzuka Kiba and Akamichi Chouji. A Chuunin Team of five would do the trick..  And this Chuunin Team was Konoha's strongest Chuunin Team anyway.

Tsunade had ordered Aburame Shino to come to her office this afternoon. She expected him any time now. Aburame Shino had become a very powerful Shinobi and had declined Tsunade's offer to become a Jounin instructor. He already was a Jounin last year and had several missions already. Usually, his missions were together with the ANBU. This year, Tsunade had promoted him to an ANBU Leader. The mission Tsunade was going to give him was a very tiring one. It was the same mission where Kakashi came back from a few years ago. Shino was the ANBU Leader of the best ANBU hunter squad of Konoha. 

"Hokage-sama."

Tsunade looked up to look straight into Shino's bug mask. 'Damn… I didn't even hear him come in.'

Shino bowed his head in honour and took off his mask. Tsunade smiled as she looked straight into Shino's eyes, without the glasses. She was one of few that actually got to see Shino's eyes. 

"Aburame Shino. I'm glad you've come. I am sure you have heard the latest news of Kakashi's team." She paused to see Shino nod his head. "Well, I'm giving you his mission." Tsunade continued as she read Shino's puzzlement. "I know it's very high ranked mission, but you and your team will be quite enough for it."

Shino frowned as he stared at the ground for a little while. 'This mission might take a very long time…' He looked up to look at Tsunade and nodded his mission. "I understand, Hokage-sama."

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'This is just too much… she just won't listen to me!' Lee thought as he watched how Hanabi rushed forward again, completely ignoring the yelps coming from her would-be team mates. Lee smiled as he threw a few Kunais to halted Hanabi's movements and then he could easily grab her by the legs to throw her into a nearby tree.

Lee easily deflected four Kunais with one Kunai in his right hand and faced his other two students Gekkou Toji and Morino Ujin. He watched as Ujin revealed a tape on both his wrists that held two long knives each. Toji simply gripped two swords that were on his back and faced him. Lee smiled. 'Those two can probably work together a little better, since they seem to know each other. This might be more interesting.' He watched as Hanabi hopped down from the tree and watched how Toji and Ujin started attacking. 

Ujin started with simple slashing movements with his hands, the two knives barely missing Lee and from behind Lee, Toji used very skilled sword techniques. But both stood petrified as Lee was about twenty feet away from them in mere seconds. Even Hanabi's eyes were widened.

Lee smiled. 'It feels pretty good showing off once in a while… This should make them try harder.. And it should make Hanabi realize that she can never get these two bells without the help of the other two..'

On another training field, Shikamaru was whining his ass off. 'This is just so amazingly tiresome…' Shikamaru watched as his three students were huddled up together, probably thinking up of a plan. 'If that isn't teamwork, I don't know what is… On the other side, I should be happy… This way, it won't even take long… But I at least expected one of them to screw up.'

Ten-Ten's students were Udon, Kensu and Enola Mohe. Udon was one of Konohamaru's friends, Kensu was a silent guy so far and mostly wore bandages over his face, only his green eyes were revealed. Enola Mohe was a girl with long curly kind of hair and she seemed to be quite giddy. So far, all they've done was stare at her.

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Naruto was on a mission together with Gaara. They were both heading very fast towards the Mist Village. Apparently someone had told Itachi that some goody-two-shoe guy was succeeding in hunting Hidden-nins from the Mist down. Their mission was to wait outside of the Mist Village and deal with the man and his group of hunters. 

Naruto remembered the few times he had to come in Mist Village for missions. He had killed someone who was very close to him once. He didn't really wanted to, but the fact that the kid was yelling his name in sheer glee, happy in seeing Naruto, didn't help Naruto and his efforts in remaining unseen. Itachi was with him that day and told Naruto it would be best to kill him now, instead of later… And so, Naruto had killed Inari… He had watched his new comrades kill others easily in cold blood. And somehow, it didn't really bother him to join the killing.

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"Say what?!" The tall man yelled, straight in the Hokage's face, her hair blown up because of the yell.

"You're not serious, right? There's no way the ANBU can handle about three S-Class Criminals at once, especially if they've been together for more than two years. Their teamwork is probably top notch! Even if you're sending the best ANBU, they might kill off one or two, but I know for sure they won't be winning.." 

"You don't have to yell, you know! Aburame can deal with it, he has grown to be the strongest of the Aburame clan and he's got few of the best in the village with him. He'll manage!" Tsunade yelled back.

Jiraiya shook his head. "If that's what you think… I guess I'll have to back down… but only because you are the Hokage now. So… what do you want me to do?"

Tsunade cracked a smile and tilted her head to the side. "Jiraiya… I think there's going to be trouble… I want you to train."

Jiraiya's eyes widened. "Say what?! You want ME, the strongest SenNin, to train?"

Tsunade frowned. "Who ever said you were the strongest? It could as well be me or Orochimaru. I want you to select a few of the strongest persons here in the village and make them stronger… And err.. just to let you know… I'll be training with you, next to doing my job as Hokage, of course."

Jiraiya chuckled. "So, you think we're going to have big problems in the nearby future, and you want us to train because that's how you feel about it, ey? Well, I don't see why we should train… I think we are ready for what's come already. But.. your wish is my command.. Hokage-sama." Jiraiya stated with a wink and turned around, jumping out of the window.

Tsunade pondered as he left. 'Yes… there are far too many threats out there for this village.. We don't have the power to deal with it all at once, so we have to gain that power… I wonder how Naruto is doing out there…'

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Far away from the Leaf Village, in a village where no Shinobis were supposed to live, people were seated around a small campfire. Uchiha Itachi, Hyuga Dareda, Mokito, Sinobi Raidou, Hoshigaki Kisame, Hyuga Neji, Gaara and Naruto. Itachi was about to speak.

"We'll infiltrate Leaf Village in a few days. I don't want them seeing our faces. Kisame, Gaara and Sinobi will create a diversion, so Naruto and Mokito can snatch the Scroll of forbidden Seals. Me, Dareda and Neji will knock out any form of obstacle in your path." Itachi looked at everyone once. "Does everyone agree?"

"I do not see why we shouldn't just kill everyone…" Gaara brought in. "I expect a lot of the people in that village to be on missions. "

"I disagree, if we begin our killing spree, there will be survivors, that's just how it is. And then our identities will be known everywhere. We can not let that happen." Dareda countered. "I do think one of us three.." Dareda began, looking at Itachi and Neji. "should act us back-up for Naruto and Mokito."

Neji nodded. "I volunteer, In case something goes wrong, I'll set things straight again."

"Hmm, I'll send a few Kyuubi Bunshins along with Kisame, Gaara and Sinobi." Naruto threw in the conversation. 

Everyone nodded, while Gaara shook his head. "So, we should try not to kill too many people?" Gaara asked in a whiny and bored voice. "Sometimes you guys are no fun.."

Kisame chuckled, while the others grinned, except for Itachi, who didn't change his most occurring expression… a neutral expression….

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Tsunade watched the Jounins step up and waited for their statements. She wondered which three Jounins would be the next Jounin instructors for the future Genins. 

Shikamaru started talking. "Hokage-sama. The team that you established for me to lead… is excellent at teamwork.. The three of them got along perfectly from the start. I… think they're ready to become Genin."

Lee stepped forward and took a bow. "Hokage-sama! The three that you recommended for me to lead is formidable. Hyuga Hanabi started attacking me individually, though, while the other two, Gekkou Toji and Morino Ujin, were good friends and awfully good with their own weapons. Their teamwork was very good. When I showed them I was serious and they simply couldn't win fighting alone, even Hanabi started working together with the other two. She was the one that came up with a plan to get the bells from me. Of course, they didn't succeed, but they were close. I recommend them to be Genins as well."

Tsunade nodded, glad Lee was finished talking. After five Jounins told her that their new students were all too stubborn or too stupid to try and work together, Ten-Ten stepped up. "Hokage-sama. Two of the three students I lead think very high of themselves, while they bully the third student, Udon. They are quite impressive and Udon is also very good. When they saw there was simply no way getting past my own weapons, they also started working together, although occasionally yelling their heads off telling Udon was screwing up. But, I think they're ready, given the time."

Tsunade nodded, and four Jounins had recommended their students to be the new Genins. She had to pick three of the four. But she already knew who would be the next three Jounin instructors anyway. "Nara, Lee and Ten-Ten, I hereby promote you to the new Jounin instructors."

'How troublesome…'

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"Well… you two seem to be knowing the strongest Shinobis of this village. Why don't you tell me?" Jiraiya asked as he stood before two ANBU Leaders.

Ibiki smiled. "Jiraiya-sama. You know as well as I do, that you know just as much as me. Not much has changed since your departure. A few Jounins became stronger, few became older, thus weaker."

Jiraiya nodded. "Very well, I want Sarutobi Asuma and Hatake Kakashi.. Fetch them, Ibiki." Jiraiya turned towards Anko. "Mitarashi-chan.." Jiraiya slurred, receiving a glare from Anko. "Well, yeah…. Uhm, why don't you get Aoba and Genma for me. I'll get Hyuga Hiashi and Maito Gai. We will become Konoha's…. absolute defence…"

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Shadows were moving all around Leaf Village. The guards had already noticed and when they were about to sound the alarms, they got knocked out by the silent-killing Kisame and speedy Mokito. 

Naruto landed next to Mokito and the two set off towards the Hokage Tower, where the Scroll of Hidden Seals is. Kisame waited and watched as Gaara and Sinobi landed next to him. They nodded and split up through the village. Behind them… three of Naruto's Kyuubi Clones were following, watching their backs. 

Itachi and Dareda stood a little farther ahead and nodded to Neji that he should head for Naruto and Mokito, to watch their backs. Dareda silently activated his Senshin-Byakugan and pointed to a location where guards would be a problem. Itachi nodded and the two of them head off.

'Jumping over these roofs kind of reminds me of all those years ago. Heh, I expected being here would make a greater impact. But now, I don't seem to care too much… Maybe because I don't see the familiar faces.' Naruto thought as he glanced sideways at Mokito. They were both jumping at very high pace. Mokito had trained Naruto especially in speed; the two of them were the fastest of their Mercenary Group. That's why Itachi had chosen them to quickly steal the Secret Scroll.

"Mokito… you'll have to stall the Hokage while I head for the Scroll, she'll recognise me if I stall her, you see? Oh.. and…the Hokage.. she's very powerful, don't try to attack her, cause she really has this inhuman strength.. But you know that already.. I hope we can do this the fast way.."

Mokito nodded. She had heard of the new Hokage of the Leaf Village. 'The legendary Tsunade, a woman as a Hokage, I thought that would never happen…' Mokito thought with a smile. 'Tsunade is a medical specialist and she possesses a very powerful strength. I hope I don't make a mistake against this woman..'

'Hmm.. I remember these roofs. I remember that place right there..' Neji thought as he glanced downwards during his jumping. 'That's where I defeated Lee once… one of the many times.. I wonder how that loser is doing now..' Neji glanced forward at Naruto and Mokito. 'So far, so good… We've all been trained by Kisame how to be very silent… And since he's the specialist in silent-killing… Well, we're pretty good at this…'

And then a lightning show came to all eyes. Sinobi had started his distraction method. A Lightning show that seemed to reach the stars. Gaara had already surrounded himself, Sinobi and Kisame with sand that would blow by a mere touch of another, while Kisame was busy flooding several houses with water techniques. "Heh, this is actually fun, isn't it?"

Gaara looked at Kisame with a bored expression. "Not really."

Dareda watched via his Senshin-Byakugan how many Jounins and Chuunins were rushing over towards them. "Now here comes the tricky part, Itachi…"

Itachi nodded. "Indeed, they'll have to get away from there fast and lead them out of the village. Naruto and Mokito should already be in the Hokage Tower."

Sinobi stopped his lightning show and had sensed many people were heading for them. "Oy, it's time to go!!" He yelled. Kisame jumped away after releasing a gigantic wave of water towards a few houses. Gaara simply jumped after Sinobi. Gaara glanced backwards and saw how many Jounins and Chuunins were in pursuit. Gaara smiled. 'Boom….' 

The sand that was still present at the place they just were, exploded harshly. Many Chuunins were caught in the blow but jumped through and remained following them, though now they were slightly damaged. The Jounins had jumped over the explosion and continued their pursuit.

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'"What's going on?' Tsunade thought as she heard the loud explosion from outside. She jumped out of her bed and immediately ran towards the window to look. The only remains of the explosion was a huge dustcloud. Suddenly, she sensed two intruders and both of them jumped past her in a very high speed. One of them rushed inside, while the other landed behind her. She sensed another one just outside, waiting to come inside, perhaps. Suddenly, the one outside, jumped downwards, probably towards the guards who were guarding the doors. 

"You must be the Hokage, ey?" Mokito asked. "It's an honour to stand face to face with you."

Tsunade whipped around and tried to recognise the stranger. She narrowed her eyes when she didn't. "Who are you?"

Mokito smiled a big smile. "No, I'm not telling."

Tsunade growled. "I'll force it out you then!" Tsunade rushed forward and rammed her fist straight… through… Mokito's face. 'What..?!'

The image of Mokito slowly disappeared and Tsunade sensed her behind herself. "Bunshin?"

Mokito shook her head as Tsunade turned around. "Nope, that's just my regular speed."

Tsunade's eyes slightly widened. 'But that… is rather impossible. I was only a few inches away from her when I attacked her. And she simply moved away from me.. just like that.. How to attack one with such speed?'

"What the?! Who the hell are you?!" One of the two guards yelled as a stranger landed before them. 

Neji looked them straight in the eyes and smiled. He shook his head at them as their eyes widened at his Senshin-Byakugan. "You two are not fit to be the Hokage's guard. You two have way too many weaknesses. You." Neji started with the guard to the left. "Your legs are tired.. probably from a mission you went through some days before. Your eyes aren't very sharp, so your aim should off a little. You can't afford that in a battle."

Neji continued with the guard to the right. "And you, you have received several wounds by Kunais in your right arm… while that's the arm you can use best. I bet you forgot to tell the Hokage this, after she told you would be guard tonight. Must be your pride… How foolish. You two don't stand a chance against me.. I have already formulated a plan."

The two guards swallowed nervously as everything Neji had just said was absolutely true. They took on a fighting stance nonetheless. Neji shook his head. "It's over."

Suddenly, the two guards winced in pain as they were hit straight through the chest, against their hearts. The two guards slowly fell to the ground, before sawing two of Neji's advanced clones disappear. Neji smiled and stared upwards. He saw everything between Mokito and Tsunade happen. 'Mokito… don't get her angry…'

Naruto was quickly going through all the scrolls. 'Damnit, damnit! How the hell did that damn scroll look like again?!'

Naruto threw scroll after scroll behind his back. 'And why the hell are there so many?!'

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"Wait!" One of the Jounins suddenly yelled as he made a few Jounins stop. Many Jounins and Chuunins jumped past them to continue their pursuit on Gaara, Kisame and Sinobi. The Jounin who yelled for them to stop turned around to the few Jounins behind him and revealed his Byakugan. 

"I'm afraid we have more problems here… Leaf Village is under attack… I'm guessing the ones we are following are just a distraction."

Kakashi and Jiraiya looked at each other as they heard this. "Let's go back then.."

The Hyuga Jounin named Hat nodded as well. And the few Jounins jumped back towards Leaf Village. Kakashi, Jiraiya and Anko were amongst them.

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"A few are coming back, Itachi… What should we do?" Dareda asked.

Itachi stared at the Hokage Tower. "I think Naruto and Mokito are just about done… If they are not, we'll have to stop these few Jounins coming this way.."

Dareda nodded and used Gentle fist to hit the air, thus resulting a small Chakra wave to be shot into the air. 

Neji, who was standing by the Hokage Tower, easily noticed the Chakra wave in the air and leaped towards Dareda and Itachi. 'I see… so they must've figured out the distraction…'

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TBC

A/N: Well, I hoped you liked the new developments. In the next chapter, I will go look through many old characters' perspectives… Or I'll try to. Anyway, I'm signing off! 

Buh-Bye!

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	2. Mission Accomplished

Naruto – The Anime/Manga Series

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...

A/N: Thanks a lot for the reviews! 

One thing though, I know Naruto seems a bit OOC In this fic, but that's just his true nature, from the start. When he's on missions with Itachi and the others, he's cheerful because he only has to focus on the mission and nothing else. The only times when he will be cold, aggressive and, well, bloodthirsty, is when he encounters persons who are linked with his past and who have hurt him in any possible way. For readers that want to see Naruto exceptionally aggressive, don't worry! ^_^  

Oh, and another thing, if you have something that's wrong in this fic, or something that's 'F@cking boring the crap out of you', to quote a reviewer, please show me arguments and/or ways on how I can improve myself... Or at least leave me an e-mail address along with the anonymous review. 

Do realize that there's a major time jump of five years at the beginning of this book, and err… I think people could change in 5 years. Oh, this chapter will be slightly longer. And damn, I didn't think people would mind if I started with Sasuke's introduction in chapter 2

Well, thanks for reading the beginning of Book 2! I will try and make it all believable now! 

"A few are coming back, Itachi… What should we do?" Dareda asked.

Itachi stared at the Hokage Tower. "I think Naruto and Mokito are just about done… If they are not, we'll have to stop the few Jounins coming this way.."

Dareda nodded and used Gentle fist to hit the air, thus resulting a small Chakra wave to be shot into the air. 

Neji, who was standing by the Hokage Tower, easily noticed the Chakra wave in the air and leaped towards Dareda and Itachi. 'I see… so they must've figured out the distraction…'

**There Where When is Now, Book 2**

Chapter 2

A legend, that he was, or so he thought when he was a Genin still… Right now, it didn't impress him by the slightest. He was known as the Legendary Hatake Kakashi, who owned one Sharingan eye and had supposedly copied thousands of Jutsu's with it. At the time it seemed rather unlikely for someone to possess so many Jutsu's. But for someone with a Sharingan that would be very possible. 

'And now…. I probably own more Jutsu's than Kakashi…' Sasuke thought with a grin as he went through the scroll Orochimaru had given him a few months ago. 

Orochimaru had told him to try and teach the Jutsu's that were in the scroll. Sasuke could see by the type of seals that the scroll didn't originate from the Leaf Village. The techniques in the scroll were very hard to learn and Sasuke was getting tired and aggravated at the same time, only having learned 5 techniques in the scroll in these two months. He was known as a very talented Shinobi who could learn everything in a very short amount of time. It was really vexing to find out that this scroll would give him such a hard time.

Sasuke stared at a grinning Kimimaro, who sat on the ground opposite of him, leaning against a tree. Sasuke snarled as he turned back to the contents of the scroll.

"Having trouble, huh?" Kimimaro asked. "You know, I know every basic Jutsu from every Village, even the basic Jounin Jutsus. But I do not know the forbidden Jutsus.. not all of them anyway. But the ones that are in that scroll in your hands I do know."

Sasuke lifted his head to gaze back at Kimimaro. "Show me then."

Kimimaro shook head. "No… you'll have to learn them yourself. Orochimaru told me not to show them to you. He was afraid you might pull your Sharingan eyes out."

Sasuke smiled. 'True, I would have. This is getting so… tiring.. I will continue with the scroll, tomorrow.' Sasuke thought as he wrapped the scroll and rose to his feet. 

"Kimimaro, you're looking more awful by the day…" Sasuke said with a shake of his head.

Kimimaro looked at the ground sadly. "I know." Kimimaro watched him walk away. 'The brat's getting more arrogant…'

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"I found it!! Haha!!" Naruto yelled and turned around, ready to storm out of the room, out of the Hokage Tower. 'Now to get out of here as fast as possible.'

As soon as he jumped out of the room, he stood face to face with three Guards. Naruto's eyes widened. 'Shit..! They might know me!' Naruto immediately improved his own senses, as Kyuubi Chakra boiled through his veins.

"What do you think you're doing here?!" One of the guards yelled. He didn't even have time to react at the sudden pain in his neck, as Naruto leaped forward to slash the guard through the neck, creating a big gash in the guard's neck. As Naruto appeared behind the remaining two guards, the one that got attacked fell on the ground, dead. 

The two remaining guards stared at the Shinobi before him, who had a scroll in his mouth and big claws as hands. Claws he had just used to kill their friend. What was more terrifying were the young man's eyes… which were blood red. The two guards steadied themselves, one gripping a Kunai and the other a small sword.

"Surrender! We will not let you go!"

Naruto smirked as he made six Kyuubi Clones appear behind the two guards. The real Naruto quickly jumped away as the Kyuubi Clones started ripping the two guards apart.

"Sorry, but I can't let you escape." Shikamaru stated as he had trapped one of the intruders with his Shadow Imitation. The other two had managed to evade it and were up in the trees watching. 

Kisame snarled as he stood in Shikamaru's shadow. "Damn brat, you'll regret capturing me like this."

Shikamaru shook his head, making Kisame's head shake as well. "Idiot." He began, stretching the insult. "I can kill you if I want to, you know. Just tell me your intentions."

Shikamaru didn't seem to have recognised Gaara. Then again, Gaara had changed.. new clothes, new hairstyle, the only thing that remained the same was the scar on his forehead. He narrowed his eyes at the shadow-using boy and remembered that the same technique was used on him many years ago as well. 

Sinobi snarled, already doing hand seals. They were surrounded by many Leaf Chuunins and a few Jounins. 'I bet the Kyuubi Clones know not to interfere, because Naruto had ordered them not to if there were people who could recognise him. I guess me and Gaara will have to save Kisame.' Sinobi finished his hand sealing and faced Gaara. "Oy, time to finish it up here!"

Gaara nodded and grinned evilly.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. 'Damn, They're just going to attack. Figures.. I hoped they wouldn't attack while I had this guy trapped.'

The battle began to unfold before him, while Kisame couldn't do a thing.

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Mokito was avoiding Tsunade's blows, but no longer with ease. Tsunade was slowly wrecking the entire room with her inhuman strength and was slowly trapping Mokito, so she could no longer move away. 'This is getting dangerous…'

Tsunade smirked as she saw Mokito look around for an escape from her next attack for just a split second and that's when she rammed her full on the face. Mokito was rammed through the wall. Tsunade's eyes widened as she saw Mokito being grabbed by the other intruder, who was just as fast. They were out of there in no time at all. 'Damn! I couldn't even see the other's face!'

Tsunade immediately went in pursuit. 'That other one must have stolen something! This is so frustrating!'

Tsunade landed on the ground and saw the guards who were guarding the Hokage Tower this day. They were both dead… Tsunade narrowed her eyes. 'What the hell is going on?!' She immediately continued her pursuit.

"It took you long enough, Naruto!" Mokito yelled as Naruto released her and they continued their sprint. "Damn…" Mokito robbed the sore spot on her cheek. "That hurt soooo much…"

Naruto only glanced at Mokito once, before he threw the Scroll of Hidden Seals at her. "Take this. It's time to let the others know we have the scroll."

Mokito caught the scroll easily and watched Naruto perform several hand seals, jumped, turned around and faced the Hokage Tower, which was now far in the distance. "Gufuu no Jutsu!!"

A huge tornado suddenly made his way towards the Hokage Tower. Neji, Dareda and Itachi had used Henge to conceal their real identities and were fighting a few Jounins on a roof when they saw the tornado in the distance. Itachi, Neji and Dareda nodded to each other. Dareda and Neji performed a Heavenly Spin together, unlike any seen before. "Kaiten!!" The huge whirling motion made sure there was a certain distance between him and his attackers. While he performed the Heavenly Spin, Itachi had made his escape as fast as he could. Dareda and Neji fell, because of the gigantic Kaiten, through the roof downwards and made their escape on the ground.

The Jounins were still waiting for the Heavenly Spin to stop spinning and when it did stop they were surprised to see Neji and Dareda were gone.

All Neji and Dareda had to do while escaping was simply giving one Gentle strike to an attacker and be on their merry way. In no time they caught up with Itachi.

Mokito and Naruto were now the only ones who still had to escape from the Village. Naruto suddenly let Kyuubi Chakra surround him and powered up a great deal. "Mokito… time to fly.."

Mokito's eyes widened as Naruto grabbed her and Naruto increased his speed even more. Mokito made sure she held on to the scroll. 

Tsunade gritted her teeth as she saw the biggest tornado come before her and had to prevent it from harming the Hokage Tower. "Shit!! Now I can't go after them!"

Outside Leaf Village, Shikamaru was panting. He was forced to release the Shadow Imitation on Kisame as Gaara had engulfed him with sand from a distance. Shikamaru started cussing inwards because he was just about to kill Kisame. 

Kisame chuckled as he joined Sinobi in the fighting, while Gaara walked over to Shikamaru. He planned on killing him right then and there, until one of the Jounins suddenly threw a rain of Kunais at him. Naturally, the Shield protected him and Gaara turned towards his attacker. Shikamaru planned on attacking Gaara from behind, but a lightning bolt suddenly struck him in the chest, making Shikamaru get thrown through a few trees. 

Sinobi smiled. "You owe me one, Gaara!"

Gaara didn't react to that and watched as the Kyuubi Clones suddenly threw themselves into the battle as well. 'So the clones were waiting for that guy to be knocked out..' Gaara thought as he threw the unconscious form of Shikamaru a last glance.

'Now we'll win this for sure..' Gaara thought with a grin as he begun hardening his sand and attacking all around him, very gleefully. 

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"We're being followed by three people." Dareda stated. "And Naruto is using his advanced Chakra to move out of the village." Dareda finished, with advanced Chakra, of course meaning Kyuubi's Chakra. "Naruto and Mokito should have no problems getting out of the village… I am more worried for Sinobi and the others."

Itachi nodded. "Hmm, they will be able to handle themselves.. Right now I think they know it's best to run…"

"Kakashi, Gai and Jiraiya… they are the ones following us." Neji suddenly brought into the small conversation. "What should we do?"

"Jiraiya? But that's the legendary one, right?" Dareda pondered. "We can't afford to be recognised… Too bad, though, it would be interesting to fight him.."

And Itachi began performing one high-level Genjutsu after the other. 

'What's…..?' Kakashi stopped jumping. "Genjutsu.." He stated as he saw a huge pile of trees blocking their way.

Jiraiya and Gai had already stopped beside him. The three easily undid the Genjutsu, only to see there was a Genjutsu on top of this one. This time, it showed they were in the middle of Leaf Village, while they were in fact in the forest. Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "This is very high-level Genjutsu… used for escape. It might take a while for us to get out of these sets of Genjutsus… and by the time we do… they will be long gone…"

Jiraiya sighed. "Do it as quick as you can anyway… I have a funny feeling about these intruders…"

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Sasuke was as free as a bird. Something one wouldn't expect for someone who was, at the same time, a subordinate of Orochimaru. But Sasuke often took long walks and Orochimaru knew Sasuke would come back anyway. There simply was no place else where Sasuke could grow stronger faster. This day, Sasuke had wondered off from the others as well, and when he was drinking water by a small river, he sensed people. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and quickly and as silent possible, leaped up at a tree and concealed his own presence.

What Sasuke saw, or who Sasuke saw, made his eyes widen a great deal. Familiar figures from the past. Though all five of them were still Chuunins, Sasuke mused. What were they doing here? They were very close to Hatsu's barrier. The barrier he had created to keep out enemies, like Akatsuki members or hunter-nins. He didn't expect these four to come here. They had changed quite a deal…

Hyuga Hinata was the current leader of the small group. Sasuke could sense she was the most powerful one of the group. 'She must have developed her Hyuga abilities.' Hyuga Hinata became a nice-to-look-at woman. With her hair slightly longer and her posture way more confident, she became very pretty.

Inuzuka Kiba… Still as rash as always, or so Sasuke figured. The boy, now a young man, with his now taller dog by his side, could have lost some of his old nature. Judging from his stance, Kiba could be more controlled of himself now. 

Akimichi Chouji was one of the biggest changes. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the fat boy who was now no longer fat. He actually looked well built and the confidence on his face was very apparent. 'He must have found a way to use those Akimichi pills in a better way… Somehow, I find it hard to believe that he lost so much weight… even if it has been five years.' Sasuke smiled as he saw Chouji take some food from his pockets. 'But some things don't change..'

Yamanaka Ino, with two swords and a bow on her back. 'That will get in the way in a real battle.' Sasuke thought as he observed her more thoroughly. Her hair was long again, a few long hairs were hovering in front of the right side of her face, while the rest was wrapped in a big bush of hair behind her, almost reaching her butt.

And then there was Haruno Sakura, Sasuke couldn't help but blink at her. Her hair was longer, though not as long as Ino's and her hair barely reached her breasts. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, there was something very strange with Sakura, he felt a very strange change in her. Sure, she was more confident, but that was only logical after five years. There was something else, as if she was OVER-confident. 

Suddenly, Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw Akamaru bark at Kiba. Then he saw Kiba sniff his nose around and he watched how Kiba's eyes wandered over to his direction. He gritted his teeth as he watched how Hinata activated her Byakugan. 'I can't believe this!'

Hinata's eyes widened as she noticed who it was who was watching them. 'Sasuke-kun?'

The other four prepared themselves, not knowing who it was they were facing. Sasuke raised his Chakra a great deal, making sure the others could sense him and would come to his help fast. Four against one wasn't fair. He could probably win this, but not without getting hurt. And he couldn't afford getting touched by the Hyuga girl or be overtaken by the Yamanaka girl. Sasuke jumped down. 'Perhaps I should talk until the others come here..'

Sasuke began with a sentence that was perfect for the situation. "It's been a while…"

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"There are too many!! We'll have to run!" Sinobi yelled as he was surrounded by two Jounins and a Chuunin.

Kisame and Gaara looked coldly at Sinobi. "Why don't you go berserk, Sinobi? It could help a lot in this situation." Kisame yelled as he dodged several attacks and reflected many Kunais with his big sword.

Gaara didn't even have to dodge, since he had all his defences activated. He simply picked an opponent to crush and did it. But he had to admit, there were far too many and his Shield of Sand had proven to be insufficient a few times already. 

"If I do go berserk, Hoshigaki, you know fully well that I won't be able to control myself." Sinobi stated as he kept his attackers at distance with a few lightning bolts, but was kicked hard in the back after he finished his sentence.

Kisame gritted his teeth as a Kunai hit him in the left leg. "Damn you!!" He yelled as his sword expanded in the width and ripped the attacker apart. Kisame quickly jumped away from a rain of Kunais and performed a water Jutsu to keep the Chuunins busy.

"We should go… I want to prevent me from getting hurt.." Gaara suddenly interjected. "There are more coming this way.. I will use my Carnage attack as we flee.." Gaara stated as he got ready to jump. He quickly threw an enemy away using his hand of sand.

Sinobi and Kisame nodded. Kisame created a huge wave of water as a barrier so the three of them could make their escape. As Gaara took a gigantic leap, he turned in mid-air and performed several hand seals. As the huge wave Kisame had created diminished, he started his attack. "Suna Shuurajou!!"

And the hardened sand with hundreds of sharp spikes attacked every Shinobi that would dare follow them. Gaara smiled and followed after Sinobi and Kisame.

"Mission accomplished."

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When Itachi, Dareda and Neji arrived at the spot they had agreed to meet after the mission, they saw Naruto and Mokito were there earlier than them. It wasn't that much of surprise to them. They already sensed the other three coming their way and Dareda and Neji had confirmed so with their Byakugan. 

Mokito watched the Scroll in her left hand while she rubbed the sore spot on her cheek with her other. "We had more dangerous missions than this one.. but I never got hit this hard before.." She whined. "Damn.. and that was just one hit… How long did she have to train to get that much strength?"

Naruto only grinned and didn't feel like saying anything.

Gaara, Kisame and Sinobi took that moment to land in front of them. Itachi nodded. "Well, let's go." 

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Sakura was too shocked to be able to open her mouth. 'Sa.. Sasuke-kun! Is that Sasuke-kun? Yeah, that's Sasuke-kun!! Is it really Sasuke-kun?! Sasuke-kun!!!'

Ino's thoughts were almost the same as they stared at their idol. She was totally frozen as she stared at Sasuke.

Kiba snarled. "So, we encounter a missing-nin… I say we take him back to Leaf Village. What do you say, Akamaru?" Akamaru barked, although he was very aware of the Chakra that radiated from Sasuke's body. Akamaru barked at his boss to inform him of this.

Kiba narrowed his eyes. "Well, I expected nothing less from this guy, after five years.."

Chouji simply stared at Sasuke. 'Ok, this guy is definitely out of our league… but if we work together..' Chouji narrowed his eyes and steadied himself.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Are you willing to come back with us? Or.." Hinata find herself interrupted by Sasuke. Or rather, Sasuke answered her second question.

"You'll have to force me." Sasuke stated with a grin. "However, I do not wish to fight. Can't you just.. run off and let me be?"

Sakura and Ino were still speechless, so the leader, Hinata countered. "No, you are a missing-nin of Leaf Village. You will come with us."

Sasuke shook his head and sighed. "I don't want to do this.. You guys should know when to challenge someone and when to not challenge someone."

Kiba had quite enough of this guy and performed a single handed-seal with his right arm. "Sankontessou!!"

Sasuke easily dodged the attack by stepping to the side. "In this battle, every little amount of Chakra you lose with every attack is very important. You just lost precious Chakra, Inuzuka."

Kiba narrowed his eyes. "Don't underestimate us!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, ignoring the all too familiar sentence. "You guys are already too late.." He stated as he pointed behind him. Where Teri and Hatsu stood, itching for a battle. 

Akamaru barked his lungs out at Kiba, telling him these new two arrivals together with Sasuke would definitely be too much for them. Kiba growled.

Hinata gazed at Akamaru, before facing the three Shinobis before her. "We will" She got interrupted by Sasuke again.

"No, you won't. We will leave here peacefully.. if you follow, you're dead." Sasuke finished, turning around and jumping away. Hatsu and Teri groaned and followed after him, disappointed since they really wanted to kill them..

Hinata turned around. "We have to go back as fast as we can! We now know of Sasuke's location!" Her words however, were only heard by Kiba, Akamaru and Chouji. Sakura and Ino were still watching the retreating form of Sasuke.

When Sasuke, Hatsu and Teri entered the camp again, Teri spoke up. "Oy, Sasuke, don't you think it would be best if we had killed them? They now know our location."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Shit!"

Hatsu stopped Sasuke from returning. "Too late, they're long gone… Besides, Orochimaru can put a Genjutsu around anyway. Don't worry."

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"They've taken the Scroll of Hidden Seals.." Tsunade stated. Before her stood most Jounins. 

Jiraiya nodded. "This is very dangerous. We do not even know WHO took it. If the one who stole it can actually understand everything that's in the scroll… we have a big problem… Especially… if they find Naruto.. If only we knew who it was.."

Shikamaru suddenly interjected. "I.. I was attacked by sand.. I don't know if we can conclude something out of that.. but at least we know it was a Sand Shinobi."

Another Jounin snorted. "Well, I was attacked by lightning."

Another followed saying "And me by water."

Tsunade groaned. "So this is not getting us anywhere. Jiraiya, what's in that scroll anyway?"

Jiraiya pondered a bit before answering. "Well, just the forbidden Jutsu's of this village. Ninjutsu, TaiJutsu, Genjutsu.. all of it… or well, in other words.. Kinjutsu. Kage Bunshin, Opening the Celestial Gates and Kuchiyose Edo-Tensei are a few examples…"

A silence fell as Jiraiya explained. The Jutsu's were all very powerful no doubt. Kakashi broke the silence.

"They used very high levelled Genjutsu us. These people were no ordinary Shinobi… They easily breached the defences of the Village, which means it was someone who knows our village from the inside." Kakashi summed up. "And Hat here.." Kakashi said, looking at the Hyuga Jounin beside him. "Had spotted someone.. with a Sharingan.."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "What?!"

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"Orochimaru.. We have a problem." Hatsu stated as he walked towards Orochimaru, who was busy looking into a certain scroll. "Intruders.. two of them.."

Orochimaru glanced at Hatsu. "Wait a minute, Hatsu.. I'm almost finished." He stated, still reading the scroll. "We'll deal with them.."

"Orochimaru, One of them… I already know for a real fact.. it Aburame Turin.. one of the Akatsuki. I can sense that girl anywhere… That Bug girl just leaves such an obvious scent of… well… bugs. " 

Orochimaru dropped the scroll on the ground and stood from his seated position. "Aburame, ey? It must be because of Sasuke, who increased his Chakra outside of your barrier yesterday, that made them come here and check it.. It's an unfortunate coincidence that those two were close. Now they will also find your barrier."

Hatsu nodded. "Yes… and my barrier is very sensitive against… bugs… especially Chakra-eating bugs.." Hatsu stood up. "It seems they also broke your Genjutsu around my barrier."

Orochimaru nodded before he started thinking. "They're with two, we're with five. We will have to fight against them… We'll win this, we outnumber them by a great deal.."

Hatsu turned around. "They just broke the barrier… they should be here soon.. Let me round up the others." Hatsu said, before he ran to collect the others. 

Before Hatsu could go and collect Sasuke and Kimimaro, the two Akatsuki members stood before him. 

Doro Odei smiled as he and Turin landed before Hatsu. "Nice barrier you left, here, Hatsu…" Turin said while grinning evilly.

"We can move like the wind… or have you forgotten?" Doro asked.

"It's been a long time since I last saw you… Our leader thinks you've betrayed us… is he right?" Turin asked, eyeing Hatsu.

Doro remained silent and watched how Teri and a stranger approached them. Turin narrowed her eyes at the stranger and looked straight into his eyes. 'That's Orochimaru…' Turin thought as he heard two others approach them, two other strangers he simply did not know.

Doro narrowed his eyes. 'Damn… I never thought they would be with this many people… If it's going to be hard, I think it's going to be summon time… Or maybe Turin has a plan.'

"Nice of you to visit… However, you are not welcome here." Orochimaru started. "But now that you know our location, we can not let you leave.."

Doro narrowed his eyes at the stranger before him. "So, you're the leader of this little petty group?"

Orochimaru frowned. 'Ah, of course, he can not see past my new body.' Orochimaru chuckled. "Doro, you idiot. It's me, Orochimaru."

Doro's eyes widened. "What.. I see.."

Turin stepped forward. "I does not matter. We work with special signs… we leave these signs behind so other Akatsuki members can find us. We left one straight before your barrier, Hatsu. It radiates a special Chakra for a very long time and only us Akatsuki members can recognise it. You three WERE Akatsuki members and you won't be able to find it."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "You two will die here anyway, so it doesn't matter.. We'll find another place to live."

Doro suddenly turned serious. "I'm sure you have your evil plans, Orochimaru, as always. However, you won't have the time to work them out. Our leader has already collected three of the ten Scrolls of Hidden Seals... And you… have the one form the Sound Village… Please, hand it over and do not force us to kill you.."

Teri frowned. "Are you stupid? We are with way more and you dare threaten us?! I will make you learn not to underestimate us, you fool!"

All of them took on a fighting stance. 

Sasuke leaped forward, towards Turin, but was immediately yanked back by Kimimaro. "No… don't attack that one physically.."

Sasuke frowned. "Why the hell not?! I can do more than you can, Kimimaro!"

"It is rather obvious you do not have your Sharingan activated, Sasuke." Hatsu suddenly spoke up as he stared at Doro and Turin. "You can't attack Turin head-on. With a simple touch on her body you're down.. She is a bug.. literally.. and a very poisonous one at that. One touch will, in fact, kill you."

Sasuke was released by Kimimaro and spoke up. "What if I just don't attack her face? She's fully clothed anyway."

"My advice to you from now on… Activate your Sharingan. Those are no clothes… those are millions of bugs…" Teri spoke. "I can hear all of them.."

Sasuke took Teri's advice and activated his Sharingan. His eyes widened at Turin's body… With his Sharingan he saw Chakra all around Turin, but also he saw the Chakra was moving. 'So the Chakra.. the bugs are the Chakra.. This is a Bloodline Limit?'

Turin smiled. "If you're not going to attack, I will!"

She approached Sasuke and Kimimaro and followed them as the both jumped away in great speed. Doro meanwhile did a few hand seals and glared at his three opponents. "This will be a very hard battle.. Uindo Tate!" 

"Heh, you actually think that puny shield will protect you?"

Doro smiled. "For the most part, yes. Only very powerful attacks will get through this shield, but most powerful attacks are incredibly slow compared to the weaker ones. That's why I.." Doro jumped backwards. "Prefer to attack from a distance!"

Orochimaru smiled. "Fool… You don't know what you're up against." 

Hatsu and Teri began performing hand seals, while Orochimaru vanished from view. Doro suddenly made punching movements directed at both Hatsu and Teri. Hatsu and Teri immediately jumped away, as from Doro's hands, powerful wind blasts came out. 

Hatsu landed a few feet away and had finished his hand seals. Teri had landed on a tree branch and was also finished and was ready to attack Doro. Doro smiled as he suddenly screamed and expanded his Wind Shield. From behind, Orochimaru was swept away by the huge wind blasts that were surrounding Doro. 

"Hakaze Atemi!!" During his yelling, Hatsu had already begun his running towards Doro. Doro snarled as he started jumping back, Hatsu's Leaf attack was easily being cancelled out by Doro's Wind Shield. The leaves were simply blown away as soon as they came to close. Hatsu suddenly began attacking more rapidly and stronger, bigger leaves. Doro watched as the attack was about to finish and Hatsu put all his might into the last leaf. Doro made his entire Wind Shield block the leaf, making sure it wouldn't come through.

"Mokunen!!" Teri suddenly screamed as she appeared just beside Doro, precisely after Hatsu's attack had finished..

And all forms of sound disappeared for Doro Odei… 'I'm… deaf?'

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TBC..

A/N: Thanks for reading!! I understand if things seem a bit rushed, especially during the fighting, but these two chapters were just a start, so you can sort of see how strong everyone has become and where everyone is standing in the good-evil bar. I hope you like it! I've got perfect plans for later chapters, oh and there will be pairings, but probably in Book 3… Oh, and as for spreading the situations in the first chapters over more chapters… I'm considering it.. But right now… I'm going to try and draw my OCs and the adult forms of the Genins Naruto, Neji, Gaara, Sasuke, Ino, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Lee, Ten-Ten, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kankurou, Temari and Sakura. Fanart… never tried that before… I could definitely use some help!


	3. Power Introduction

Naruto – The Anime/Manga Series

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto... (This sentence is the sentence I've typed most!)

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Now, this chapter will still be a bit of an introduction for the characters in this new book. I'll be showing you how strong everyone has become. Or I'll try to. My first name for the Aburame member of the Akatsuki was Sasori , but I changed it in Turin.. I don't know why either. Anyway, when you look her up in the Jutsu List of the previous book, her name is Sasori. My bad, absolutely my bad… Oh, one thing, there's a new character in here, kind of similar to Sakon's ability, but more advanced, since he is a new member from the Akatsuki.

About clothing, Naruto has different, more mature clothes, mostly dark red clothing. Gaara no longer has a gourd and has to create the Shield of Sand himself, he also has different clothing, similar to Itachi's and Kisame's clothing. Neji wears dark blue clothing. Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Kiba and Chouji have Chuunin uniforms. Shino has ANBU clothing with a mask of a bug on. Sasuke wears a black shirt and white shorts, still the same as before, actually, only larger. 

Doro did a few hand seals and glared at his three opponents. "This will be a very hard battle.. Uindo Tate!"

"Heh, you actually think that puny shield will protect you?"

Doro smiled. "For the most part, yes. Only very powerful attacks will get through this shield, but most powerful attacks are incredibly slow compared to the weaker ones. That's why I.." Doro jumped backwards. "Prefer to attack from a distance!"

Orochimaru smiled. "Fool… You don't know what you're up against." 

Hatsu and Teri began performing hand seals, while Orochimaru vanished from view. Doro suddenly made punching movements directed at both Hatsu and Teri. Hatsu and Teri immediately jumped away, as from Doro's hands, powerful wind blasts came out. 

Hatsu landed a few feet away and had finished his hand seals. Teri had landed on a tree branch and was also finished and was ready to attack Doro. Doro smiled as he suddenly screamed and expanded his Wind Shield. From behind, Orochimaru was swept away by the huge wind blasts that were surrounding Doro. 

"Hakaze Atemi!!" During his yelling, Hatsu had already begun his running towards Doro. Doro snarled as he started jumping back, Hatsu's Leaf attack was easily being cancelled out by Doro's Wind Shield. The leaves were simply blown away as soon as they came to close. Hatsu suddenly began attacking more rapidly and stronger, bigger leaves were approaching him. Doro watched as the attack was about to finish and Hatsu put all his might into the last leaf. Doro made his entire Wind Shield block the leaf, making sure it wouldn't come through.

"Mokunen!!" Teri suddenly screamed as she appeared just beside Doro, precisely after Hatsu's attack had finished..

And all forms of sound disappeared for Doro Odei… 'I'm… deaf?'

**There Where When is Now, Book 2**

-Chapter 3

Sasuke was glaring at his tricky opponent and cautiously glanced over at Kimimaro, who was standing at the other side of Aburame Turin. All Sasuke knew was he couldn't attack the girl physically. But it did not matter that much, since Sasuke was also good at distance attacking. He performed a few hand seals and smiled. "Taiyuu Bunshin no Jutsu!" five of Sasuke's clones appeared beside him. "I can't attack you physically, but my clones can."

Kimimaro watched the clones and shook his head. 'No, this one is surely stronger… Aburame… I know the clan, and I know how talented they are.'

Turin moved her head to the left, and all of a sudden, all of Sasuke's clones fell backwards.. Sasuke himself included. 'Ack! What kind of attack was that?'

Turin smirked at Sasuke. "Do not underestimate me. Most of the Aburame clan, wear glasses for a reason. I don't wear glasses… and with my eyes.. I can do certain things." She did a few familiar hand seals before announcing her next Jutsu. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Sasuke and his clones immediately leaped backwards as a few human-sized scorpions appeared. Even Kimimaro looked a bit surprised as he jumped back. 'This could get really complicated..'

Turin chuckled shortly before dividing herself into two, one clone and one real. One faced Kimimaro and the other faced Sasuke. "Don't tell me you're afraid of a few small scorpions?" Both Turins narrowed their eyes as they glared at their opponent. "Wait until you see, Dakats… It'll be a delight!"

Sasuke made sure he could actually attack these scorpions with his Sharingan and found they were not poisonous. Kimimaro had already performed one of his dances and was just ramming the scorpions away. Sasuke took a look at his clones and made all of them attack at once. With incredible speed he appeared behind every scorpion. Sasuke and his clones used a Kunai and their own hands to rip the tails off. Sasuke ignored their annoying screeches and continued his assault. 

Kimimaro looked slightly bored as he put the last scorpion out of his misery. He glanced sideways at Sasuke, who was just playing with his last scorpion. Suddenly, he felt Turin was approaching him. He avoided her punches and kicks with all his might and quickly jumped upwards, landing on a tree branch. He watched as the other Turin was approaching one of the Sasukes. 

Turin knew he was the real Sasuke, because of a certain bug she put on him when they just arrived, she put one on everyone, actually. But before she could hit him, another clone of Sasuke appeared. Turin simply touched the clone's cheek. The clone's skin melted and before he could melt any further, he vanished with a puff of smoke. Turin's eyes widened as she saw the shadows of two other clones above her. She blocked their kicks which made the clones disappear but she failed to see the Shurikens that were hidden behind the two clones. She could barely jump away as the two Shurikens hit the ground. More Shurikens and Kunais followed and Turin could only jump away. 

Kimimaro turned his gaze away from Sasuke and his opponent and glared down at his own opponent, the other Turin. Slowly a few bones came ripping through his skin. "Behold…" 

Turin frowned. 'Strange fellow…'

Sasuke performed a few hand seals as his clone was making Turin dodge any Kunai and Shuriken that came at her. "Katon, Inferuno!!"

Turin simply jumped upwards, avoiding the gigantic fire attack Sasuke just sent to her. "You just wasted a lot of precious Chakra, Uchiha!"

Sasuke simply chuckled shortly, as Turin was jumping straight for his clone. Who had already finished another Jutsu. "Oy! Ranpu, San Genwaku!!" Turin looked straight into the bright light of Chakra that the clone sent towards her. The real Sasuke smirked as Turin was falling down towards the ground, having no eyesight for the time being. He immediately took a peculiar stance, but a very familiar one. "Chidori!!" Instead of running towards his opponent, Sasuke simply shot the blue lightning-like attack straight at the falling body of Turin, who had no idea what was coming. She was just wondering where all the chirping came from? Until it struck her dead-on…

Sasuke smirked and made his clone disappear. 'That's that for the clone…' His smirk vanished, though, as the Turin who just got hit by a Chidori stood on the ground, covered by dozens of bugs, who were immediately tending to the gaping wound. Turin was still a little blind because of Sasuke's Solar Flare.. "Stupid arrogant Uchiha, do you actually think I'm beaten that easily?"

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"Hokage-sama!"

Tsunade was put out of her sleep by the slight yell that came from the mouth of a Chuunin Leader. She looked up to see the Chuunins she had sent on a mission to deal with the Mercenary Group. Hinata, Sakura, Ino, Kiba and Chouji stood before her. 

"So.. did you complete your mission?" Tsunade asked, but immediately noticed the shameful looks that they gave her. She shook her head. "Well, why come back empty-handed?"

"We…" Sakura began, but couldn't continue for some odd reason. Ino simply gazed at Tsunade, but at the same time gazed through her. 

Kiba shook his head annoyingly while Chouji was simply eating out of a big bag of chips. Hinata chose to say it. "We have encountered a missing-nin from our village."

Tsunade suddenly gave all of her attention to Hinata. "Who? Who did you find? Did you kill him?! Brought him back?"

Hinata shook her head. "Uchiha Sasuke is the one we found. And no, we didn't kill him nor could we bring him… back. But, we know of his location."

Tsunade frowned. "Do you honestly think he'll stay there now that you know where he is?"

Hinata nodded slowly, not entirely sure of herself. "I… located several others and it seemed a small camp was established near where we found Sasuke. They were with five total. The small camp is surrounded by some sort of Barrier." She reported matter-of-factly. "I suggest sending ANBU there."

Tsunade looked at Hinata before putting her gaze down. "So, Sasuke is still alive and has chosen to stay with them.. do you know which people were with him?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, I didn't know any of them. Though one did remind me of someone, but I can't seem to remember.. He had long grey hair in a ponytail."

Tsunade's eyes widened. 'That description does remind me of Orochimaru's friend. Could he be with Orochimaru?'

"I'll deal with this… You are all dismissed. Go back home for the time being." Tsunade turned away from the Chuunins. 'I actually hoped they encountered Naruto… It would be great to see that brat again..'

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Naruto inspected the scroll with curious eyes and then looked up to gaze at Itachi, who was holding the scroll in his hands. "Heh, I learned my Kage Bunshin thanks to this. What else is in it?"

Itachi briefly looked over at Naruto. "Forbidden Jutsus, Naruto. Jutsus…. meant for OUR eyes.."

Naruto grinned. Neji and Dareda were off hunting for food, Kisame was standing beside Itachi, Gaara was standing beside Naruto and Mokito and Sinobi were seated a small distance away from them, talking. 

"This scroll will probably be the key to the reaching of your fullest potential." Itachi suddenly stated, making Naruto, Gaara and Kisame frown. It was obvious Itachi was saying it to both Naruto and Gaara. "It is obvious both of you have the Fourth's Forbidden Jutsu, the Seal, on your stomachs. In here, lie the secrets of that particular Jutsu." Itachi gazed at Naruto and Gaara with a neutral expression, whereas Naruto would have expected a grin. "Aren't you interested?"

Suddenly, everyone in the small camp turned as they all sensed a high paced movement. Naruto sniffed once. "No worries, it's Dareda and Neji."

Nonetheless, Itachi still narrowed his eyes. "They found something… Maybe a threat."

Kisame chuckled. "A threat?! For us?! We could probably destroy Leaf Village if we try our best!"

Itachi shook his head. "I suspect something else…"

Dareda and Neji arrived moments later, with a few dead animals in their hands and on their shoulders. They gazed at each other, before facing the others. Mokito and Sinobi were still seated a small distance farther and the remaining four were right in front of Dareda and Neji. 

"We might have a problem… Akatsuki… But just one member.." Dareda started.

"No physical injuries, no insecurity… And I believe… I saw… malice.. in its eyes..." Neji summed up. "In other words… this is probably a cold Shinobi, one who kills without hesitation."

Sinobi pondered out loud. "Hmm, Shinobis like that are usually weak… since they make so many mistakes while wanting to be quick about their job."

Gaara grinned. "But this one…. seems to be with the Akatsuki. This ought to be…. entertaining." Gaara's grin grew.

Kisame sighed. "Hmph, I expected some big, powerful Shinobis. Now we only get one. This will most likely be very disappointing…"

Mokito and Sinobi walked up to the others. "Spread out?" Mokito eagerly asked. "Maybe we should play around a little with this person."

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'What the hell is going on?! I can't hear a thing!' Doro thought as he stared at his three opponents before him. 

"Can't hear anything, can you?!" Suddenly rang through Doro's head. It was clear it was Teri who was doing the talking. Her shriek absolutely made Doro's body tremble.

Doro yelled back. "Heh! As if something like this can stop me!" He narrowed his eyes and grew slightly nervous. He found it odd that he could not even hear himself speak.. not even inside of himself. 

"Don't kid yourself! You can only hear me, because I'm talking on a whole different level of sound. I've penetrated your ears with my Chakra, making it so you can only hear one type of sound… and that is my voice. My voice can be heard by everyone and everything, but now, it's the ONLY thing YOU are capable of hearing..." 

Doro gritted his teeth as all three of them disappeared. Doro couldn't hear their movements, so he had no idea where they were. 'This is not going so well…'

"Pretty annoying, huh?! I have to say… your downfall is nearing…"

Suddenly, four Kunais were right in his right leg. He had no idea they were coming, until they were right there, in his leg. Doro quickly pulled them out and was able to see the next rain of Shurikens aimed at his body. He dodged by jumping away. 'Man… I can't believe how important the ears are, my Wind Shield is practically expendable now..… Damn this, how long will this take?'

Doro had no time to dodge Hatsu's fist as he appeared before him. As he was thrown backwards by the punch, a snake began to strangle him. He immediately activated the Wind Shield at full force with the use of his hands, blowing the snake away. As soon as it stopped, Orochimaru appeared before him and kicked him skywards, where he was suddenly entangled by dozens of vines. 'Damn you, Hatsu… I can't even move my hands now..'

"Odei-kun. This is it…"

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It was so long ago. He had changed so much. Small scars filled his face, the face that was usually so… clean. The look that came out of his eyes was so cold… The way he could coldly stare at you back then is nothing compared to it now. Fear was all she felt, she was scared, Haruno Sakura was terrified of Uchiha Sasuke. She had no doubts that, if Sasuke was in a lesser mood, he would surely have killed them. 

'Sasuke-kun…'

The memories of before were great, but the happiness she felt all that time was shattered in mere days. Her team mates were simply no more. She always believed they were still alive… Or, she always hoped they were alive. And now, she knows.. Uchiha Sasuke is alive. And the distinct imprint that was left behind in Sakura… was close to devastating. 

'I am not strong enough…'

No, she was never strong enough, was she? Not enough to even stand in her team mates' shadows. Things have changed, she has become a lot stronger, but there didn't seem to be any doubt about the fact that her team mates were still far beyond her. She didn't know about Naruto, but she had this feeling about him..

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Naruto coldly stared at the Akatsuki member before him. It would take a few minutes before he got here, with the slow pace he was moving in. Itachi and Kisame were to Naruto's right, a great distance away, Neji and Dareda were to his left, also far away, Sinobi was up in the trees and Gaara was standing beside him. There simply was no way one person could win here… They had decided Naruto and Gaara would…. Try… them out.

Naruto sniffed once, trying to smell something peculiar. "Well, it seems like this one is more than just one…"

Gaara frowned at Naruto, making Naruto explain further. "I smell more people… inside of him… or her. I never know how to smell the difference between a man and a woman… Smell, Shampoo, Sweat.." Naruto wondered, going into a whole new subject. Gaara chose to ignore him.

"Naruto, he's here."

Naruto stopped his loud 'thinking' and steadied himself. "Oy, who are you?!" He started.

The old woman before him smirked and seemed to analyze the both of them. "My, you two sure are young… I'm sorry that I got through the Genjutsu Barrier.. Was it yours?" She began, looking at Naruto. "Or yours?" to Gaara.

"Shut up." Gaara countered. "Do you have anything important to announce?"

The woman narrowed her eyes at Gaara. "My god, what the hell happened to you? You have such an unpleasant voice!" She said.

"You have an annoying voice." Gaara countered. "Seems you don't have anything that matters on you."

Naruto shook his head and gazed at Gaara. "Gaara, wait a minute." Then he faced the woman. "You're from the Akatsuki, huh? What do you want?"

The woman faced Naruto. "You two are similar, you have the same…" The woman started thinking before finishing the sentence, totally ignoring Naruto's question. 

"Oy! Don't ignore me, you hag!! I asked you something!" Naruto suddenly yelled. He hated being ignored.

The woman smiled at Naruto. "Yes. I am Akatsuki. I came here fully expecting a strong Shinobi. Only a few can put up such a strong Genjutsu Barrier… Of course, I expected someone who I knew. Akatsuki, perhaps. You two, are not of importance.. And I feel like killing the both of you…"

"You are weak, woman, you should be silent." Gaara stated. "The minute is up, Naruto. I have no problem with killing this annoying… something.."

The woman narrowed her eyes at Gaara. "My name's Okurujin, Jikounur, Roukujin, Kurounji and Nikujuro."

Naruto frowned at the many names. "What's with all the names?!"

The woman simply divided herself, letting 4 persons come out of her. Three females and two males. The woman they first saw was standing in the middle, the others popped out of her and were kind of… wet.

"Clones? Or…" Naruto asked. "What the hell?!" Naruto then turned to Gaara. "Heh! That's why I couldn't tell if this was a man or a woman."

Gaara stared at Naruto dumbfounded for one split second, before turning back towards their opponents. "Of course."

The woman in the middle started explaining. "No, they are me and I am they… Like she is him and he is him and her at the same time. We are one… and we have… perfect teamwork…"

"Hurry…" Gaara said, stretching the word. "Attack us…"

The woman frowned. 'These two…. are… odd… They don't seem to be.. frightened…'

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Sasuke turned serious at Turin. "Aburame, ey? Pretty annoying.." 

Turin frowned as she saw Sasuke being covered by black and orange-yellow marks. 'Ah, he has a Curse Seal..' She continued to observe him and watched how he finished this.. transformation.. and transfixed his eyes on her again. 'This should be funny….'

Kimimaro, meanwhile, could attack his opponent easily with his blades or his… bones. He already knew he was just fighting Turin's Bug Clone, but advanced Big Clones like these were almost as annoying as the original. They also kept healing their selves after every slash. But the clone's Chakra was slowly dissipating, and then Kimimaro could help Sasuke out with the very dangerous and real Turin. 

Turin easily read through all the Jutsus Sasuke was performing and somehow knew how to get around all of them. So far, she had dodged fire attacks and grass attacks, but Sasuke also noticed she couldn't attack back… or she WASN'T attacking back. Time to take it a level up…

Sasuke threw Shurikens and performed the Shadow Shuriken Clone, and immediately after that, he performed a second Shadow Shuriken Clone attack. Turin snarled as she simply let all of the Shurikens hit and dissolved in dozens of bugs. Sasuke also snorted as he threw several Kunais to his left and right. Both Turins dodged the attacks. One was obvious a clone, so now Sasuke had two opponents. 

Both Turins quickly hovered above Sasuke and….. puked… Sasuke first made a face, before he jumped away from the barf that was descending upon him. 

Both Turins landed with their backs to Sasuke. They quickly turned around and one of them spoke up. "Heh, it was Bug Blood what I just threw at you."

Sasuke frowned. "Threw?"

Turin ignored Sasuke and continued. "It's poisonous with just one touch.. I advice you to not near that small puddle of…"

"Vomit." A disgusted Sasuke finished for her. 

"Bug Blood." Turin corrected Sasuke.

"Why warn me? It's an advantage for you." Sasuke stated smugly. 

Turin grinned. "Because I want to play a little." Turin suddenly narrowed her eyes and glared sideways, at her Bug Clone, who was sliced in half. Turin stood face to face with Kimimaro, who had just slain her Bug Clone. 

"So, this clone is no advanced Bug Clone?" Kimimaro stated as he saw the clone crumble to the ground. 

Turin jumped back. 'Two against one.. I guess I could resort to Dakats… but that's boring..' Turin performed a few hand seals. "Ekisu Konchuu!!"

Sasuke noticed with his Sharingan, how dozens of bugs moved underground, beneath them and… were starting to absorb Chakra from them from under the ground. "Kimimaro, jump!"

Kimimaro looked at Sasuke. "I know, Sasuke."

They both jumped away from the Chakra-consuming bugs. Sasuke watched as other Chakra-consuming bugs also chose to go inside of the trees. 'This is getting aggravating!'

Of course, the bugs couldn't go any father than about thirty feet from Turin, but Sasuke and Kimimaro were forced to attack Turin from a distance now. And when Turin moved towards them, the bugs all moved with him. So this was a kind of absolute defence. When you get to close, your Chakra gets absorbed, if you hit Turin physically, you'll die from poison. What a complicated opponent…

Sasuke's left eye twitched once. He went from Curse Seal level one to Curse Seal Level 2, Kimimaro also activated his own Curse Seal to Level 2. For the both of them, this could get rough… Turin's bugs drain Chakra, but the Curse Seal drains Chakra like hell as well. 

'Now it really begins…'

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Naruto glanced sideways at Gaara and smirked. "This one's really strong, ey, Gaara? Maybe this one is actually a challenge."

Gaara didn't react and simply stared at the five persons before him. Naruto sighed. 'Well, Time to create four Kyuubi Clones… so, it's five against five… I will conceal my presence so they won't notice the real me isn't fighting.. which means.. I need a smoke ball…' Naruto thought as he grabbed a smoke ball out of his pocket and threw it on the ground. Immediately after that he created the clones.

"Kyuubi Bunshin no Jutsu!"

After the smoke cleared, the five people narrowed their eyes and saw how now Four Naruto's stood before them and still one Gaara. 

'Suna no Tate, Suna no Yoroi, Suna no Sekisho..'

"Hooo, this seems very interesting, Okurujin." One male, with long black hair stated to the woman in the middle, who seemed to be in charge. "Time to show the women that we men can handle this by ourselves, right, Roukujin?"

The other male, who also had black hair, but sort of like a punk hairdo, all the way up, talked back.  "Right, Kurounji, but these two are kind of young. Maybe we should go a bit easy on them first, huh?"

Okurujin shook her head and faced Gaara and Naruto's four Kyuubi Clones. "Sorry, but as you can probably tell, we will overpower you. Your clones won't last long."

"Who are these guys anyway, Okurujin?" A black-haired girl asked. She wore her hair totally loose and it fell all around her. "They don't seem like much to me.." She finished in a whiny voice.

"Quit your whining, Jikounur." Another, slightly older, female responded. She wore her black hair also loose and just below the shoulders "You always have to whine so much! Besides, the redhead is kinda cute.."

She received a groan from the younger Jikounur. 

"Oy!! You should all stop your jabbering!! Or are you all afraid?!" Naruto yelled. 

"Hmm, those eyes kind of make him cute as well…. Very.. intriguing eyes they are… much more pretty than those dull eyes you two have." Nikujuro stated facing Roukujin and Kurounji.

Roukujin and Kurounji weren't paying any attention to her as they were facing the Narutos and Gaara. Roukujin suddenly rushed forward, but was immediately punched back, by one of Naruto's Kyuubi Clones. Roukujin took the punch to the face and landed several feet away, on his feet. "Some speed you have there…"

Kurounji was slightly surprised to see one of the Narutos easily exceed Roukujin in speed like that. But still, Roukujin wasn't showing them his fastest. Kurounji disappeared and reappeared behind Gaara and planned punching. His punch went straight through the Shield of Sand but was stopped by the Barrier of Sand. Gaara smirked as he made the sand of the Shield of the Sand surround Kurounji and squeeze him a bit, before throwing him towards Roukujin. 

The females of the five shook their heads at the two males who were both now grumbling. "Heh, so that's how our men fight, huh?" Nikujuro yelled. "Jeez, how pathetic can it get?"

The oldest of the five, Okurujin, gazed at the two males before warning them.  "I never said these guys were weak, idiots!" Okurujin stared at the Narutos and Gaara. 'But what stopped Kurounji's attack? And those clones emanate a very strange Chakra…'

Jikounur suddenly performed hand seals and let a huge stream of fire erupt from out of her mouth, hitting three of Narutos clones head on. Gaara calmly remained standing with his arms folded. As the smoke cleared a bit after the hit, all five of them were surprised to see the three clones were still standing… and practically unharmed..

"What kind of clones are those?! I put a lot of Chakra into that attack!" Jikounur screamed. 

Nikujuro stepped forward. "I say it's my turn… these two seem to be stronger than I expected…" Out of nothing, she made a sword appear in her hand and slashed at two of Naruto's clones. She jumped backwards and slashed at Gaara. The sword, surprisingly enough, went through the Shield of Sand but was stopped by the Barrier of Sand. She jumped back to the other girls and gaped at the two Naruto Clones. She had hit two of the clones and surely slashed through them. And now… the wounds seemed to heal completely and very quick. Where before there was a huge hole in the stomach in one clone and a hole in the other's neck in the other clone there was now…. nothing… not even a scar..

Nikujuro made her mysterious sword disappear. "Ok, this is very annoying…"

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TBC

A/N: Well, the New OC in this chapter is Okurujin, who has, like Sakon, more people inside of her. Ok, ok, Sakon had just one inside of him/her. These five (Okurujin, Nikujuro, Jikounur, Roukujin and Kurounji) are all brothers and sisters of each other. As you can see, they all have the same letters in their names… Pretty lame, I bet you think… Anyway, I think now you can imagine how strong everyone is in this fic.. And if you haven't, that's good too, since I have many surprises up ahead. Teehee… Uhmm, well, anyway, in the next chapter, these small battles will be over. I know the story hasn't progressed a lot in this chapter, but I just wanted to show some new power of a few characters. I really wonder how Sasuke looks like with his Curse Seal at level 2. I didn't really progress any further in that Sasuke and Kimimaro versus Turin fight, because I don't know how Kimimaro fights… Oh well, I'm signing off, buh-bye!


	4. Gathering Information

Naruto – The Anime/Manga Series

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Everything belongs to Kishimoto.. (I almost typed Kimimaro here….)

Author's Note: Ok, I didn't have time to write for a few days, so I couldn't update fast, my apologies. I will try to write summaries from previous chapters from now on. I'm really bad at summaries… There will be many Jutsu's in here.. If you want to know what each means, go to the Jutsu List. (Chapter 15 of Book 1)

Summary: In the previous chapter… Some people found out the Akatsuki is on the move. Orochimaru now knows the Akatsuki is after the Hidden Scrolls and has to do anything he can to prevent the Akatsuki from succeeding. Even when Orochimaru's own plans succeed, his new-gained power would not be enough against the Akatsuki once they succeed. One member of the Akatsuki enters the small village Itachi, Naruto and the others are. Right now the person, (who is 1 in 5) is fighting Naruto and Gaara. Tsunade finds out where Sasuke, but what will she do about it? And what happened to the elite hunter-nin squad of the ANBU? 

For clarification, I'll explain Okurujin a little bit: 

Okurujin herself is the oldest woman of the five and is slightly wrinkled. She's very wise, a fighter similar to Shikamaru, but she's not THAT tactical.. Shikamaru owns!!

Nikujuro is the second oldest, also female and is still rather young and pretty, she gives too much attention to the men she's fighting. A weapon specialist.

Roukujin, male, is cocky and relies on his speed too much. He's kind of a TaiJutsu specialist.

Kurounji, also male, is younger than Roukujin, but seems more experienced in battles. A little bit of this and that, considering his fighting technique.

Jikounur is the youngest of the five, female and is very good with elementary Jutsu's. With Elementary I mean Fire, Water, Ice and Electricity.

Sorry for the confusing names…

Sasuke and Kimimaro were now both standing at each other's side, facing their enemy Turin. Sasuke knew Kimimaro wouldn't last too long. Once in his Curse Seal level 2 State, he would probably faint in a short while, so he would be on his own in a few minutes. He watched with his Sharingan as Turin made her move.

Turin performed a few hand seals. "Ekisu Konchuu!!"

Sasuke noticed with his Sharingan, how dozens of bugs moved underground, beneath them and… were starting to absorb Chakra from them from under the ground. "Kimimaro, jump!"

Kimimaro looked at Sasuke. "I know, Sasuke."

They both jumped away from the Chakra-consuming bugs. Sasuke watched as other Chakra-consuming bugs also chose to go inside of the trees. 'This is getting aggravating!'

Of course, the bugs couldn't go any father than about thirty feet from Turin, but Sasuke and Kimimaro were forced to attack Turin from a distance now. And when Turin moved towards them, the bugs all moved with him. So this was a kind of absolute defence. When you get to close, your Chakra gets absorbed, if you hit Turin physically, you'll die from poison. What a complicated opponent…

Sasuke's left eye twitched once. He went from Curse Seal level one to Curse Seal Level 2, Kimimaro also activated his own Curse Seal to Level 2. For the both of them, this could get rough… Turin's bugs drain Chakra, but the Curse Seal drains Chakra like hell as well. 

'Now it really begins…'

**There Where When is Now**

- Chapter 4

It's been a while since he's been here. He had so many missions, one mission in particular was an extremely long one. And in that certain mission they had failed. He wondered what the Fourth would be thinking of him now. Or what Obito would think of him now. It didn't really matter too much, since he wouldn't be able to hear their words from where they are, anyway. 

"Kakashi."

Kakashi didn't turn around at the sound of Tsunade's voice. He had already sensed her moments before she spoke up. She probably had a mission for him already. These days it was pretty vexing in the Leaf. You had absolutely no free time. Mostly it was training. Kakashi himself was surprised he moved his limits further ahead and became stronger, if not much. The same went for the other Jounins, who, together, formed Konoha's absolute Defense. But was it really an absolute defence?

"Hokage-sama."

He had confirmed her presence now so it wouldn't take long for her to start speaking. He wondered what the mission was about this time. He sighed as he stared at the Hokage Monument. He watched the horrid scar, or crack, that ran through the Third's face. 

"Uchiha Sasuke's location has been confirmed."  

His eye widened at this newly acquired information. One of his students has been found. Of course Tsunade would come to him to... fetch him. This was really a big surprise. 

"Who will be accompanying me on this mission?"

Tsunade smiled. Kakashi had already figured out what was expected from him.

"Pick two with you. I don't care who. There is one thing you need to know... He's probably.... with Orochimaru... You might have to kill him, Kakashi."

Kakashi's eye widened at this, but only momentarily. Somehow he had expected this. After thinking about it, it couldn't be that surprising. Sasuke had joined Orochimaru to gain the power he needs to defeat his brother, Itachi. 

"I want Gai and Jiraiya with me, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him. It would weaken their so-called absolute defence if these three would leave for this mission. Jiraiya was considered the main pillar of Konoha's defence. Kakashi and Gai were very close to that. 

"Very well... But come back quick... And... don't die out there.. Come to the Hokage Tower in two hours. Go get Gai and Jiraiya before you come."

And then, Tsunade jumped away, leaving Kakashi to his thoughts.

'Sasuke... This will get rough.. Sasuke's probably a lot stronger now.. And then there's Orochimaru.. Five years have passed.. Will we be enough?'

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Sasuke jumped high in the air while also approaching the Bug ninja Turin. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!" He created about twenty clones and all of them started performing different techniques. Kimimaro meanwhile had vanished and was probably approaching Turin from another angle.

"Hyouketsu no Jutsu!!" "Katon, Housenka!!" "Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!" "Katon, Ryuuka no Jutsu!!" "Jishin no Jutsu!!" "Katon, Inferuno!!" "Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!!" "Suiton, Suikoudan!!" "Buriza Do no Jutsu!!" "Rakurai no Jutsu!!" "Hakaze Atemi!!" "Kage Byou!!" "Hatsuiku Karamiau!!" "Hibiki Ayatsuri!!" "Gufuu no Jutsu!!" "Shihou Hapou Shuriken no Maki!!" "Ranpu, San Genwaku!" "Raikiri!!" "Suiton, Daibakufu!!" "Senei Yashuu!!"

Turin, jumped away from all the fire blasts with ease and jumped to avoid the Earthquake attack that descended upon her.  She also easily dodged the sharp leafs and the rather slow Ice Beam. The Shuriken Shower that was heading for her was easily bypassed as Turin jumped in a tree. The water attacks that followed washed the tree she was in away. But Turin had already landed on the ground, away from where the Earthquake Attack was still going on. Sasuke Shadow Dance was very ineffective, since he couldn't attack Turin anyway, so Sasuke's clone did get a hit in but disappeared after one single touch. Turin simply let the snakes grab her and watched how all of them died after touching her. Turin's poison was simply overwhelming Sasuke's poisonous snakes. Suddenly, she watched Sasuke perform seals she did not know. 

"Suicchi!!"

Turin's eyes widened as Sasuke and herself switched from places. Turin was a bit disoriented and didn't notice the many exploding tags that were now on his feet. Sasuke smirked as he watched how the exploding tags all... exploded, with Turin in the middle. As Turin jumped out of the sea of explosions she got imbedded by ten bones Kimimaro had thrown at her. Kimimaro than landed next to Sasuke and fell to his knees. 

"Sasuke, you're on your own. You should be able to win now.. She's damaged a lot now.." Kimimaro breathed out, after his Curse Seal diminished. He was exhausted, but could still watch the battle. He walked towards a secure place, where no bugs would be absorbing the rest of his Chakra. Sasuke, still in his Curse Seal level 2, watched a bruised and bleeding Turin. He also saw many bugs tend to her wound as fast as possible.

Turin was burned by the explosions and bleeding because of the bones that were stabbed through her body. She ripped all of them out with a sneer and waited for the bugs to finish their healing. 'Shit... These two really did a number on me... I have to go with Dakats while I can... My Chakra is running low fast..'

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!! Come forth, Dakats!!"

Sasuke's eyes widened at a gigantic scorpion towered above him, above the forest they were fighting in. He swallowed nervously as he watched how vicious the beast looked. A black and probably poisonous scorpion. Sasuke suddenly smirked, but was not too confident. 

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!! Manda!!"

Turin's eyes widened as the summon Manda appeared, one of the summons that was known to be very hard to control. 

'Shit..! This will be a hard battle after all.'

'I hope Manda will listen to me...'

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The four Narutos and Gaara frowned as they saw the five persons before them discuss their tactics. The clones didn't say a thing but had quite enough of it and rushed forward. After a lot of punching, kicking and dodging, the five persons found themselves unable to even connect one single punch to even one clone. The clones punched and/or kicked them backwards. 

"You are weak." Gaara stated as he watched it all.

Suddenly, the three females merged together and the two males merged together as well. Now, there was one male and one female before them. "Now we have gained enough power to defeat you!"

Gaara twitched his left eye and suddenly, an explosion came from where the male and female stood. 'Suna Bakuhatsu...' Gaara had collected sand and had spread it around the two. 

Gaara glanced to his left to see the male approach them.. Surprisingly enough, the guy suddenly appeared on Gaara's other side and punched hard through both the Shield and Barrier of Sand. Gaara took the hit to the face and fell a few feet away. He immediately rose to his feet and showed he was angry. The man saw how sand crumbled from his face. The punch didn't penetrate the Armor of Sand enough for Gaara to actually feel it. 

"You shouldn't have done that..." Gaara stated, clearly restraining himself as he trembled a bit from the anger... 

The female suddenly slashed one Naruto clone in half with a sword and continued to the next clone, who tried to stop the swords with his hands, only to find himself... without hands. And a second later, without a head. The woman advanced further towards the three remaining clones. Suddenly, all three clones yelled and the female was blown back by red Chakra. 

'What the hell?!'

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"Suna Kyuutai!!"

Orochimaru, Hatsu and Teri watched as Sand began to envelop Doro. Hatsu lost his control of the vines once they snapped because of the sand. The sand hardened all around Doro and became a Sphere. A Sphere of Sand. 

"Ah, an absolute defence. It won't take long before he gets too tired to fight us." Orochimaru stated.

"How annoying. How long will it take to crack that boulder?" Hatsu asked Teri.

Teri grinned. "Just leave it to the sound… My Mokunen attack is probably over now." Teri began to perform a set of difficult hand seals.

Inside the Sphere of Sand, Doro was busy getting the Hatsu's vines off of him. 'Damn that Grass prick… Hmm, time to go underground..' Doro's Sphere of Sand was, in fact, on the ground, so he could easily move himself in the sand, under them. "I'll attack with Gufuu from underneath them…"

"Hibiki Ayatsuri!!"

With that said, or yelled, the Sphere of Sand was surrounded by dozens of sound waves, on different frequencies. Cracks began to appear and within half a minute, The Sphere of Sand crumbled. The three frowned as they couldn't see Doro, even after the smoke cleared.

"Gufuu no Jutsu!!"

'Oh shit..!!' went through three people's minds. 

A huge tornado embraced Orochimaru, Hatsu and Teri. They flew and spun skywards, while Doro hopped from out of the ground and watched the three spin in his tornado. 

"Heh! Stupid idiots! That's what you get for messing with me!"

"Is that so?" 

Doro's eyes widened as he heard Orochimaru's voice behind him. The Orochimaru inside the tornado changed to mud and was washed away by the tornado. Only Teri and Hatsu were in it for real..

Doro narrowed his eyes at the Chakra that was around Orochimaru's hands. Doro quickly activated his Shield of Wind, while Orochimaru activated his Blood Awakening. 

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"What the F*CK, brat?! I have defeated Dakats before!!" Manda screamed at Sasuke, who was on top of Manda's head. "You better have good reasons for this…" He threatened. 

Sasuke swallowed, before answering. "They…. would have killed me… if I didn't summon you."

Manda stared at Dakats and Turin, who was on top of Dakats' head. "Dakats… You should feel terribly ashamed.. How dare you show yourself after being defeated by me?!"

Turin narrowed his eyes at the horrifying snake. Dakats spoke up. "Luck…. You always seem to have luck on your side, Manda."

Manda's eyes widened in anger. "What the F*CK do you think you're saying?! How dare you..?!"

Dakats stabbed Manda's tail with her won tail, as it came to claim her head. Turin watched as a new Manda came out of this old skin. Dakats jumped backwards to avoid Manda's poisonous spit from hitting them. Manda could easily dodge Dakats' scissor hands. 

Turin gritted her teeth. "I'll have to attack that Uchiha on Manda's head. I can't expect my poison to work on Manda, so I'll have to do anything to weaken Manda after that…" Turin disappeared and re-appeared behind Sasuke on Manda's head in great speed. 

"Long time no see.." Turin greeted, before attacking Sasuke with a vicious kick. Sasuke jumped off Manda and watched as Turin followed him. 

'Damn, even in my Level 2 state this is difficult…'

Just as Turin landed, Sasuke shot a Chidori straight at her face. It hit her head on and Sasuke now had time to think of a plan. 'No TaiJutsu and she's too fast to get off guard… so..' Sasuke watched as bug recovered the holes the Chidori created in Turin's face. 'I know!'

"Raikiri!!"

Raikiri is weaker version of the Chidori, or so Sasuke has made it now. The Raikiri hit Turin in the stomach and Sasuke immediately shot another Raikiri, which shot off Turin's left leg. Sasuke fell to his knees and was clearly exhausted. 'Damn it… My Chakra is almost up… Time to go to level 1 again..' 

Turin made all his bugs heal her faster as she watched how Sasuke didn't have a lot of Chakra left.. 'Damn… this guy's pretty good… he damaged me real bad now, my bugs need a lot of time to fix this mess up…'

She got her left leg back and immediately jumped away, after she saw Sasuke advancing towards her.

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Three clones of Naruto were left and Gaara was also still unharmed so far. The male and the female stood next to each other and stared them down. 

"Ok, you guys are pretty good… We won't go easy now…" The male, who was actually 2 in 1 now, announced. "Our name is Ukrojuin and we are the best in fighting."

"Heh, our apologies for taking our time, but we will finish you off now. I must say we are surprised you were this good." The female, with 3 in 1, stated. "We are called Onjirkuu."

Suddenly, the male, Ukrojuin, disappeared and one of the Naruto clones was rammed in the face. He continued by kicking the other two in the stomach in a sweeping motion. The three clones were quickly standing again and also disappeared, revealing to Ukrojuin that they too, possessed great speed. 

Suddenly, Ukrojuin was hit in the back of his right leg and was forced to crouch. A second Naruto rammed his foot straight into his face, making him soar into the sky. Once in the sky, he was rammed back to the ground by the third Naruto. Ukrojuin coughed up blood as he rose from the ground again. 

"Not bad…"

Onjirkuu made six arms appear from her sides and all of them performed seals. "Take this, redhead! Sanjuu, Katon, Karyu Endan!!"

Gaara narrowed his eyes… 'Shit..'

A huge wave of Fire came from Onjirkuu's mouth. Gaara watched as his Shield of Sand got obliterated easily and his Barrier was weakened a great deal. Another huge wave followed, destroying Gaara's barrier and then a third came, aiming straight for Gaara. Gaara chose to just jump away this time, instead of remaining to stand there with his arms folded. Onjirkuu immediately summoned a few weapons in her six hands and threw them at the jumping Gaara, who in the meantime had re-established his Barrier and Shield of Sand.

Onjirkuu gritted his teeth as he continued his assault by another set of seals, this time, only two sets of hands performed hand seal. "Nijuu, Suiton, Suiryuudan no Jutsu!!"

Gaara's Shield got washed away and his Barrier only got damaged this time. His eyes widened as he felt the female appear behind her. Onjirkuu this time, held a sword in her hands and slashed through the Barrier with little difficulty and actually penetrated the Armor of Sand a little, making Gaara bleed…

Onjirkuu couldn't dodge the huge sand-hardened fist that punched her away. 'Ack..!!'

Gaara was very pissed. "You… will pay for this.." He said, anger seeping from his mouth as a few drops of blood fell from his chest, where Onjirkuu's sword had struck him. 

All three Narutos were ganging up on Ukrojuin. Ukrojuin was having difficulty with the speed the clones were moving with and was simply outnumbered. A hit on his chin and a hit in the side convinced him to go defensive. 

"Oy, Onjirkuu!! Definitely need some help here!!"

Onjirkuu watched with an amazed expression as he saw Ukrojuin being beaten up by three Narutos. 'Shit… these guys are definitely something else… I only got one hit in on this guy..' She thought as she stared at a pissed Gaara. 'And it seems he wasn't fighting seriously until now.. man, does he look pissed..'

"It's over." 

Onjirkuu's eyes widened as she saw Itachi, Kisame, Sinobi, Dareda and Mokito land before her. 

"You… You're Itachi…"

The real Naruto jumped down shortly afterwards, with a grin plastered on his face. "Haha! You guys are weak, you couldn't even defeat my clones!"

Ukrojuin stared at Naruto and watched as he made his clones disappear. 'That guy…'

Gaara gritted his teeth as he made Chakra surround his hand and put it on his wound. He had learned from Sinobi how to quickked the pace of the healing process with Chakra, using a sort of electricity also. 

"Tell me why you came here… or we will have to kill you." Dareda threatened. "Obviously, you don't stand a chance against us."

The female and male merged together. "This way, we are called Irujukon. We came here to warn you… The Leader of our organization… he wants the Secret scrolls of the Hidden Villages.. He has already sent several people to the villages. I just passed by this beautiful looking barrier and I wanted to investigate. I never imagined it could be Itachi here.. or for that matter Dareda, Kisame, Sinobi and even the Kunoichi Mokito. You guys are pretty known to us new members of the Akatsuki." Irujukon sighed. "I guess I am to be killed, huh?"

Irujukon expected to be spared actually, but her eyes widened as dozens of Kunai went through her body…

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"Senei Yashuu!!"

Doro used Kamaitachi to simply cut all the snakes that were approaching him in pieces. He continued with multiple small tornado attacks. "Gufuu no Jutsu!!"

Orochimaru disappeared from Doro's view, while the little tornadoes simply went their own ways. Doro jumped up a tree branch and observed his surroundings. He watched farther ahead, where his large tornado was still spinning with Teri and Hatsu in it. 'It won't take long before that tornado diminishes..'

All of a sudden, Orochimaru launched multiple and different attacks at Doro. "Kage Shuriken!! Katon, Karyu Endan!! Suiton, Daibakufu!!"

Doro gritted his teeth as he quickly jumped away from the first attack, only to see he jumped straight into the direction of the second attack. The Fire attack skimmed his pants as he jumped away again, but he was hit fully by the water explosion attack and was hit through a tree. 

Doro immediately jumped up and performed his own Jutsus, but before he could utter the technique, Orochimaru had hit him in the back with a kunai, grabbed him by the left foot and threw him straight into another tree. Orochimaru continued with another "Katon, Karyu Endan!!"

Doro had nowhere to run to and the attack hit him head on.

As the smoke cleared, he saw Orochimaru stand before him with his arms folded. "Doro… Give me one reason why I should let you live.."

Doro narrowed his eyes and sighed. "I can't give you a reason.."

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"Heh, you can't fight on, Uchiha…" Turin said, while heavily breathing. Her bugs were surely taking their time to heal her. "You're exhausted, give it up!"

Sasuke also breathed heavily and occasionally coughed up some blood. The Curse Seal was really giving him a hard time. "Bitch… You won't win here… Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!"

Turin simply remained standing and let the clones approach him. They would die and disappear with one hit anyway. And since she was all poison.. Her eyes widened as a sudden lightning bolt went his way. Turin jumped up, only to..

"Raikiri!!"

Only to be hit by Sasuke's second electricity attack. Turin was slammed backwards as blood spilled form her body once again. 'Shit..!! He got me again! I won't let an Uchiha win here… not from me!'

Turin landed on her feet and let the bugs tend to the wound as she performed hand seals. She chuckled as she saw Sasuke go from Curse Seal level 1 to his normal state. "Your Chakra is almost on zero now.. You will die now.." 

Kimimaro narrowed his eyes but found himself unable to move from his spot. 'Sasuke…'

Suddenly, a body was thrown towards Turin.. Turin stared at the body and her eyes widened as she saw it was Doro. "What the HELL?! Who..?"

Both Manda and Dakats disappeared with a huge cloud of smoke.

Orochimaru landed next to the panting Sasuke. "Turin Aburame. Take Doro with you and leave this place. I'll let you live this time… We may have a use for you later… Do remember this… You owe me."

Turin narrowed her eyes at Orochimaru and watched as Teri and Hatsu landed next to Sasuke and Orochimaru. 'This is not good… Doro is defeated thoroughly and I am almost out of Chakra because of that stupid Uchiha… The best thing to do now is leave… Damn it… I don't want to owe that sick guy anything..'

"Fine. We leave."

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"So.. what do we do now?"

Itachi looked at Sinobi before he started pondering. 

"I say we all learn the techniques that are in the scroll we possess.. And after that, we destroy it.." Mokito suggested.

"Why destroy it? I'll keep it with me, there's nothing safer than that." Naruto said smugly. "No one could grab it from me."

"Heh, says the guy who forgets about anything once he starts eating.." Sinobi countered, deserving a glare from the blonde Shinobi.

"Maybe we should hunt down the Akatsuki.. all of them.." Dareda suggested. "Together we possess a great power. We can bring them down."

"No, we do not know their new members.. For all we know there's another elite Hyuga and another man with a demon inside of him with them now.." Neji reacted.

"We team up. In pairs of three.. and one with two. I'll go with Dareda. Kisame, Sinobi and Mokito will go together and the last little team will be Neji, Naruto and Gaara. Our mission will be to get the Hidden scrolls before the Akatsuki can."

Dareda pondered this over. "Hmm, if we get in trouble.. send a very powerful attack into all directions into the sky, so we can see it other villages… make it a very loud, powerful attack, so we can hear it also… We'll be running as fast as we can to help out… Don't get yourselves killed out there.."

Naruto grinned. "This is pretty cool!! It's been a while since we had a sweet-ass mission! And together with Neji and Gaara, we are completely invincible!"

Gaara nodded. "Indeed.. I pity those who will encounter us.."

Neji smiled. "This will be very interesting.. I take it if we encounter Hunter-nins from Gaara's or mine and Naruto's Village, we simply kill them?" Neji asked.

Itachi nodded. "Of course. Just do what you would normally do."

"Heh! You are only with two, you should be more careful than us, Itachi, Dareda!" Mokito let out. "It would be a total bummer if you guys are suddenly found dead."

Itachi stared at Mokito, before turning away and walked towards his sleeping place. Dareda grinned at Mokito. "Don't worry… I don't think any of us will die… For a change, we are actually doing something good now, and that is to stop the Akatsuki. I expect many other strong Shinobis to do the same…"

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"Ok!! All of you line up behind each other!!" Lee shouted at his three students. "Our first mission will be a visit to the sweet lands of the Sand!! Walk together and in rhythm! When Hanabi takes a step with her left leg Gekkou and Morino will take that certain step with their left leg at the same time as well! I want perfect synchronization!"

Hanabi swallowed at the ridiculousness of Lee's suggestions. Gekkou Toji's left eye twitched and Morino Ujin yawned. "Why must we walk like that?!" Both Toji and Hanabi screamed at the same time, Toji coughed wildly after his outburst, though. 

Lee smiled at his students. "Because, I want you three to know each other's every move, every error and every advantage! All that will lead to perfect teamwork!"

"Says who?" Hanabi questioned.

Lee sulked a bit, before straightening himself out. "Says me! You must listen to me and never question my authority!! Now let's go!! And move in synchronization!!"

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'This is too troublesome… these little morons aren't even listening to me!' Shikamaru thought as he stared at his three students, Aoba Ruin, Sarutobi Konohamaru and Moegi. "Listen up, you little…. Genins.." Shikamaru quickly made something up, instead of cursing at them. "We have a mission… We have to help the other team to escort a woman back to her village… It seems she wants as many guards as possible around her. Very troublesome.. But it's a mission, expect to be bored. Meet me here tomorrow morning! You are all dismissed!"

Ten-Ten told her little team the completely same thing... Her students were Udon, Kensu and Enola Mohe. 

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TBC..

A/N: I know the mission that has been given to Shikamaru's and Ten-Ten's team is the same as the first serious mission given to Kakashi's team. It may seem that way now, but it will go completely different, of course. I am so sorry that I needed this whole chapter to finish Sasuke's fight and Gaara's and Naruto's fight. But an idea suddenly popped in my head about Aburame Turin and Odei Doro, so… Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope you don't mind I let that 5 in 1 guy/woman get killed, heh, of course you didn't… Well, I'm signing off, G'bye!


	5. An Era of Chaos

Naruto – The Anime/Manga Series

Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto

A/N: Thanks for reading my story and thank you for the fact that you are going to read this chapter as well ^_^.. I don't have anything important to say at the start of this chapter, so…. Well! Heh…. ^_^' Please enjoy!!

**There Where When is Now **

- Chapter 5

No one could ever say to him was not experienced in anything. He had been threatened for than once in his life. He had killed far more than once in his life. He knew what it was like to like something or someone and he even knew the sensation called love. He mostly lived his life in a depressive state when alone and put up a powerful façade when he wasn't alone. He knew what it was like to be hated, ignored and especially rejected. On the other hand, he also knew the feelings of happiness and joy, although these feelings didn't visit his person that often. He craved for revenge and would unleash his wrath. There were all kinds of emotions swimming through his head. 

If he would visit his old village, the village would not survive; he would make sure of that. All will perish, save for one… And that would Iruka, his first teacher, the very first one who actually cared about him. He was the first person who showed him another emotion next to loneliness… Still, it would come to killing him anyway, since he would be the only one left. Iruka would have to suffer if he was the only survivor of the Leaf Village, so to put it in other words, he would put him out of his misery. But the others, the others will die because they deserve to die!

Hatake Kakashi, the total fake that he was for pretending to care about Naruto by being their Jounin instructor. It was obvious from the beginning Kakashi liked Sakura and Sasuke more than he liked him.. Sure, Kakashi didn't show any real hatred towards him, but that wasn't necessarily, he knew quite enough. Especially when he begged Kakashi to train him.. and he took Sasuke to train instead of him.. Man, would he pay for that…

Uchiha Sasuke, the total embodiment of resentment. God, would he love ripping the limbs out of his body and give them to someone as a present. The Uchiha 'Avenger' deserves to die the hardest, longest and harshest death ever. He who showed nothing but disdain towards him. He would show him who has always been the strongest..

Haruno Sakura, the one he actually had a crush on. She who had made him painfully experience rejection. Thanks to her he knew what it felt like to be ignored and disliked. Truth be told, Naruto would never forget that distinct feeling.. And he would repay her for it.

But right now, it seemed there would be no time for such things. Even if would encounter any people from Leaf Village or walk through Leaf Village, they had to restrain themselves. They had a mission now. He, Neji and Gaara. The Stone Village was their target and their mission was to get the Hidden scroll.. They spent several weeks preparing for this mission and all of them had learned several secret Jutsus of the Hidden scroll from the Leaf Village. Itachi and Dareda were on their way to the Sand Village, while Mokito, Sinobi and Kisame were sent towards the smaller village of Rain to go through and hit the Grass Village. These missions were straight out dangerous..

Right now, the three of them were on their way towards the Stone Village, occasionally training in between. 

Hyuga Neji was considered equal to Hyuga Dareda, if he hadn't surpassed him yet. Everyone in their little Mercenary group knew Neji had become a real strong Hyuga fighter. With exact precision even someone with a super-brain, like Shikamaru, would probably not outsmart him now.. He held somewhat the same grudges as Dareda and had sworn to finish off the Hyuga clan in the Leaf Village. Or what was left from it. 

Gaara would pay a little visit to the Sand Village after all of this, planning to kill all of them, perhaps he would spare his brother and sister…. Perhaps..

"We should sleep here tonight. The chances of being sneaked upon are close to none. And someone does try and kill us in our sleep.. We would hear it." Neji concluded as he surveyed their surroundings. 

"Hmm, as if we wouldn't notice their presence.." Naruto mused out loud.

Neji nodded. "True, but I want to sleep without worries tonight."

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"Ah, Nara-sensei?" 

Shikamaru looked at his little student, Ruin, as he stared at him, ready to ask a probable troublesome question. "What is it, Aoba-kun?" He responded, continuing to walk beside Ten-Ten.

"Well… what is the Stone Village like, Nara-sensei?" The little guy asked as he scratched the back of his head, through his black hair. 

Shikamaru stared at his little student with a hopeless look as he walked. "Well, to tell you the truth.. I've never been there… But Ten-Ten over here.."

Ten-Ten gazed at Ruin with a brilliant smile, making Ruin blush. "Yep!! It's a very peaceful village, kinda similar to our village. They have the same rules and such, but their basic Jutsus are different than ours. I don't know much of their history or their Hokage.." She said, mildly embarrassed that she hadn't done her homework before heading for the Stone Village.

What Shikamaru found the most annoying thing on this trip was the fact that three students were having the time of their life, while pulling pranks everywhere along the road. Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi were shooting all kinds of things at people that just walked by or helpless animals. And they were doing it with a lot of noise. 'How troublesome..'

Aoba Ruin simply walked behind Shikamaru by himself, Kensu was walking behind Ten-Ten also alone and Enola Mohe was walking behind the infamous Konohamaru Corps. 

Another big explosion came and laughter followed, accompanied by a groan from Shikamaru.

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There was an ancient saying and the Hidden Scroll of the Leaf was a part of it. If only she had listened to the Third's story better. Now she was forced to go through all of Konoha's history documents to see how dangerous their Hidden Scroll was when in hands of others. Tsunade just couldn't remember what the Third had said when she was still a Genin. She did know it would be very dangerous.. Jiraiya wouldn't know, he was, after all, a lot dumber than her. Orochimaru would probably know, but that's another story..

Jiraiya, Kakashi and Gai were on their way to him right now. She didn't expect them to come back with Sasuke, or his corpse for that matter. She had sent the new Rookie Genin Teams on their first C-ranked missions today. With the Jounins that were leading, it would be a piece of cake anyway. 

'Goddamnit! Where the hell is that damn scroll?!'

"Hokage-sama.." 

Tsunade didn't turn around and continued to throw away document after document. She would put them all back… in a week or so.. "Haruno-san.. What is it?"

Sakura hesitated and took one step forward as she looked at the crouched woman before her. "I… did you already send a team to retrieve Sasuke-kun?"

Tsunade still didn't turn around. "Yeah, Kakashi is on it." Suddenly, she turned around. "Sakura, perhaps you know… Do you know something about the Hidden Scroll of Secret Jutsus from out village?" Tsunade asked. 'Kakashi has taught her, and the Fourth has taught Kakashi, perhaps they told each other and so on..'

Sakura frowned and then shook her head. "I'm sorry.. I don't know.."

Tsunade groaned and turned back to her searching. "Sakura, as you can see I'm a little busy right now, I'm sorry…" She turned around again. "Maybe you can do something for me.. Could you bring Morino Ibiki to me and ask him to bring his former Genin Team mates with him?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama!"

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Silence. Familiar movements of bugs around him told him there were three of them. He motioned towards his subordinates to make no moves and just observe for now. Sure enough these three radiated great Chakra levels, but they were searching for Leaf missing-nins and no other. He really didn't feel like wasting any time on something else. 

As silent as ever, another ANBU hunter-nin landed next to Aburame Shino and reported. "One from the Lightning Village, another from the Mist Village and the third doesn't wear a headband and is female…" 

Shino nodded. 'No…. these weren't from the Leaf.' Shino watched as he let them pass them, while they stayed silent in the trees. 'But these three are up to something… Seems they're headed for the Rain Village..'

"What do we do, leader?" one asked.

Shino looked at the female who asked what to do through his mask. "We do nothing. We move on somewhere else, it seems they're nowhere near here."

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They had already given the important scrolls to the Hokage of the Wind Country and were about to leave the Sand Village again. It was then that Hyuga Hanabi suddenly spoke up and told her Jounin instructor Lee, that there were three people following them. Gekkou Toji coughed once, before gripping the swords on his back, while Morino Ujin cruelly smirked. 

'I wonder who it is..' Lee thought as he looked at the direction they would come from with a  frown on his face. 'Surely they won't attack a Leaf Jounin and his team?'

Lee's frown turned into a small smile as he saw Kankurou, Temari and their former teacher, Baki land before them. 

"Lee-san." Temari greeted with a nod. 

During these last few years, the relationship between the Sand and the Leaf had improved a great deal. Lee had learned that Temari and Kankurou weren't really that bad as he often came across them during missions in other villages and the village of Sand. 

"Ah, We came to accompany you on your way back to the Leaf." Baki announced as he also greeted Lee with a nod and gave his little Genin team a strange smile. "We have important information for your Hokage.."

Kankurou just remained silent, still with his puppet on his back. 

"Well, Ok… Nice to see you all again! Oh! These are my new students! This here is Hyuga Hanabi. And those two are Morino Ujin and Gekkou Toji."

Baki, Kankurou and Temari looked all of them over. 'A Hyuga, huh?' Baki thought. 'And this one doesn't seem to have a Curse Seal on her forehead, which means she is from the Main Family, I didn't think those from the Main Family were also allowed to be students…'

"And they are Kankurou, Temari and Baki… They are somewhat similar to as what we know in our village as ANBU. Though these guys are actually a little higher, kind of like ANBU Leaders…"

Toji and Ujin frowned, not understanding completely, while Hanabi merely gave a nod. 

"Well, you guys won't have to be afraid of getting attacked. We're with many on your way back." Baki spoke as he addressed the Genins. "Well, let's go.."

Lee nodded.

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Ibiki Morino, Rui Etsoi and Idaku Hudoku were standing in the Hokage office, with Haruno Sakura standing behind them. Rui Etsoi and Idaku Hudoku were both former Genin members in the same team with Morino. Now, the two were already retired and had too many injuries to be able to continue their life as a Shinobi. But the three of them were taught by a team-mate of Sarutobi, the now deceased Third Hokage. 

Tsunade knew these three might know something about the Hidden Scroll of Secret Jutsus.. 

"Morino, Etsoi, Hudoku, I'm going to ask you something and you will probably have to think hard to be able to answer, it has to do with your Jounin Instructor ages ago."

The three nodded, while Sakura looked dumbfounded but interested. "Well, did your teacher say something about the Hidden Scroll back then?"

Indeed, the three frowned. But Ibiki shook his head after the frown, while the other two continued to frown. "Hokage-sama… Don't tell me you forgot something as important as that?" Ibiki said, earning confused gazes from his former team-mates. 

Tsunade looked hopefully at Ibiki and motioned for him to continue. "Very well, our Hidden Scroll, the Hidden Scroll of the Leaf, is a part of a… collection… Every Village that has a big history or exists almost as long or longer than our village has a Hidden Scroll… Can you remember anything yet, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade frowned and shook her head, she just didn't know. Ibiki continued with a slight frown on his face.

"Well… it's just a myth, actually, Hokage-sama… at least that's what our sensei said. It was most important that our Scroll didn't fell in the wrong hands. You see, if it did and the one who has the scroll, also has all the other scrolls… Well, he will learn all hidden techniques written in them, of course."

Suddenly, Ibiki's two old team-mates' faces snapped up and they both remembered again, while Tsunade still didn't know. Sakura looked as stupefied as ever. Ibiki continued.

"Well, once this thief knows all the Secret techniques… he has gained the ability to call upon a whole new level of summoning and a whole new world of techniques.." Ibiki explained. "These summonings, techniques, fighting styles and all alike are ancient… and date from way before the rising of the Shinobi Villages.. Our teacher and the Third, none of the Hokages, actually, knew exactly what it all meant… But it was to be avoided at all costs.."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "Or else a whole new era will take its place upon us.." She finished, remembering it again. "Yes, I thought it was just a legend and forgot about it as soon as Sarutobi-sensei told me. I still don't think it will happen, but we'll just have to get our Scroll back, just to be sure.."

Ibiki, Rui and Idaku nodded in agreement. "It's best to alert the other villagers.. Since our Scroll has already been stolen, they won't hit our village again. But maybe we should tighten security up anyway.."

"Uh.. What do you want me to do, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade gazed at Sakura. "Tell your leader, Hyuga Hinata, to prepare for a journey towards the Grass Village.. Take one Jounin with you.."

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"Aahhh.. I can't wait till we meet some strong enemies.. It's been a long time since I was actually forced to go all out.. Our recent missions were all just too easy!" Naruto let out as he lay on the ground with his face facing the sky. 

"Indeed. I wonder if there's an actual threat for us during this certain mission.." Gaara stated. "I do hope this Stone Village is powerful, otherwise we will get bored again."

Neji nodded. "Hm, I don't know if there actually is a challenge for us there.. But we've become so strong thanks to Dareda, Itachi and the others…" Neji sighed. "I'm beginning to think there are only weaklings left out there…"

Gaara smiled. "There are far too many weak people in this world… We should eradicate all of them.."

"Wipe out the weak, so the strong can challenge each other without fear of having no challenge, huh?" Naruto responded with a wide grin. "Well, it's always fun to play around with your enemy."

Neji and Gaara both nodded. 

Suddenly, Naruto sniffed his nose and immediately looked at Neji, who activated his Byakugan.

"Eight people, two very familiar ones…" 

Naruto sniffed his nose again, to smell anything odd about them. "Genins, right? I smell a bit of fear…"

Gaara had his arms folded and sat next to Naruto on the ground. Neji was observing the eight people with his Byakugan. 'Ten-Ten… it's been so long since I last saw you… And if I'm not mistaken, that is Nara Shikamaru.'

"Ten-Ten and Nara Shikamaru are amongst them. I don't want them to see me and I suggest the same to you, Naruto. Gaara, could you… do something to them that would make it impossible for them to move on towards the Stone Village? But.. don't kill them.. Oh, you'll have to beat Shikamaru first… it seems he has a clone out there, the real one is hiding up in the trees.."

Gaara frowned. "Don't kill them?" He sulked after he rose from the ground and disappeared.

Naruto swallowed nervously as he tried to hold his anger in.. 'Leaf Shinobis….'

Neji watched him intently and sighed. 'Naruto would kill all of them if he would rush at them now, thank god he's listening to me… Then again, if they would have seen us… I was forced to kill them as well.. even though it's Ten-Ten..' He thought sadly as he sat down beside Naruto, waiting for Gaara to finish his little job.

The six Genins all flinched as from out of nothing, a small cloud of sand appeared before them and an unfamiliar man stepped out of the sand cloud. Ten-Ten and Shikamaru narrowed their eyes at the stranger.

"Hmm, you seem to be familiar…" Shikamaru mused. 'Those eyes… That tattoo…. It has to be him…'

Ten-Ten had already channelled her Chakra around her, ready for battle. She watched Shikamaru talk again. "You're Gaara, right?"

Ten-Ten's eyes widened as she remembered who Gaara was. 'Gaara… as a Genin he was already so strong… This will be hard..'

"Well, I'll take your silence as yes. Listen, I do not wish to fight. But I remember that you are a missing-nin from the Sand. Even with that information, I do not want to fight. So, if you'll just let us pass here, I'm willing to let it slide…"

"Shut up." Gaara said as Shikamaru was suddenly attacked by a pile of sand from his right..  Shikamaru popped away with a cloud of smoke. 'Ah, a Shadow Clone..'

Gaara heard the movement from above and jumped backwards to avoid the gigantic Shadow that was approaching him. In turn, Gaara attacked the tree Shikamaru was in, and five surrounding trees with a huge wave of sand. Shikamaru jumped and landed beside Ten-ten and in front of the Six Genins. Gaara remembered that this guy was known for his intelligence.. 'He has a plan… Best to just leave as fast as I can… I hope this one isn't a Shadow Clone, otherwise I have to put in more effort…'

"Suna Kyuutai!"

Shikamaru's and Ten-Ten's eyes widened as the sand around them started moving. The Genins were holding their breathe in awe at the techniques Gaara was throwing at them. Shikamaru and the others jumped up quickly, only to be bounced right back on the ground. They watched as the sand enveloped them and confined them. They were now all eight inside a big sphere of Sand. Shikamaru and Ten-Ten used several attacks to break the sphere but found it quite impossible.

From outside, they heard Gaara suddenly say something. "I have hardened this Sphere a great deal. Even if you do manage to somehow get a crack in, it will explode… Because this is a combination of my Suna Kyuutai and Suna Bakuhatsu… My advice is don't try to escape… Digging will not help you either… it's all hardened sand, ready to explode once damaged.. Goodbye…"

'Damn… he really got me… I totally expected him, of all people, to go all out and kill us.. It seems he doesn't wants us to move towards the Stone Village… and it looks like he'll get his way too… How the hell can I get myself out of here? I don't have any idea how to get ourselves out of here..'

"Shikamaru-san… I won't attack this thing… I won't take the risks and endanger our students.."

Shikamaru sighed. 'Perfect move, Gaara.. I am unable to continue… I've got to think of a way to get out of here… without any of us getting hurt..'

Neji smiled. "Naruto, Gaara has finished.. Let's go.." He said as he rose from the ground and saw Gaara appear before him. "We'll arrive at Stone Village tomorrow."

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They had been moving for two days now and Sasuke couldn't help but hope he would encounter familiar faces during their trek towards the Stone village. Their journey so far had been very uneventful, very boring. 

But they could encounter dangerous Shinobis during all of this. Sasuke couldn't wait to fight again. Fighting against an Aburame was a hassle, he had to admit, but if he had to fight her again now, he would be more prepared. He was interested in how strong the other Akatsuki members would be…

---------------------------------------------------------------------Flashback------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where are we going?" Sasuke asked as he watched Orochimaru, Hatsu, Teri and Kimimaro pack important stuff, like weapons and food.. Sasuke did the same and simply followed their example.

"We're headed for the village of Stone… Prepare for a long journey. We'll probably arrive there in five days.."

"What are we going to do there?" Sasuke asked as he put a few big Shurikens in his backpack. 

"To prevent an age of total chaos…" Orochimaru whispered, making Sasuke frown.. 

Kimimaro was done packing and stood next to Orochimaru. "Sasuke. We'll probably be encountering other Akatsuki members on the way. Our mission is to get the Hidden Scroll from the Stone before they can."

Sasuke nodded. "And why Stone Village? Why not the Sound? It's closer.. and the Sand too…"

Hatsu suddenly stepped up behind Sasuke, accompanied by Teri. "We already have the Hidden scroll from the Sound, Uchiha." He began. "You've been learning techniques from it the past few weeks."

Sasuke's eyes widened and listened to Teri, who continued. "And the Sand has tightened their security around the Village lately. It seems they already know of the Akatsuki's plan." 

"Word got in that the Scroll in the Leaf has already been stolen." Hatsu finished. "For now our target is Stone and after that Grass, Rain, Mist and so on.."

Sasuke nodded in understanding. "I see… so Leaf got overpowered?"

Orochimaru chuckled. "Leaf is not easily overpowered, Sasuke-kun.. I bet they probably concentrated on getting the scroll above all else."

---------------------------------------------------------------------Flashback------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With his Sharingan fully developed, Sasuke was actually hoping his brother would pass by… Oh, how he would love for that to happen. Could he be strong enough for Itachi now? Surely enough, with a fully developed Sharingan he should stand a chance. And a chance is all he needed.. 

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"Thank god we have food and a little fire.. It seems Gaara was kind enough to let one hole in this Sphere, to let us breathe… Odd, that he let us live, especially since he can blow this up in a second." Shikamaru said as he prepared some food. 'Damn.. if only we had someone who could manipulate Chakra… a Hyuga would be nice… Instead, I'm stuck with a Jounin Weapon Specialist and six Genins… Three pranksters… Enola, Kensu and Ruin are much worse than me with Chakra control… I need to find a way to cancel the Chakra in this Sphere out..'

"Anno…" Enola suddenly uttered. "How long will we be stuck in here?"

Ten-Ten smiled reassuringly at the girl, her student. "No worries, it won't take too long… The Chakra in this Sphere will eventually run out, especially since the one that put this Sphere around us isn't here anymore.."

Shikamaru smiled. 'True… but even then will it take very long..'

Aoba frowned. "You two are Jounins, right? How come that guy defeated you so easily?"

Shikamaru and even Ten-Ten groaned. 'Aoba Ruin… he must be Aoba's young kid… Aoba, one of the guardians of the Hokage.. Yep, this kid's probably extremely cocky..'

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TBC

A/N: Ok, another chapter done! Man, this was really great to write.. A Special thanks goes out to Hattuteline, for helping me with the plot. You should read his stories, they're really great! Once new Jutsus and new Characters make their appearance, I'll thank those who helped with the creations of them in that certain chapter. Oh, and of course thanks for the reviews so far!! I should reply to reviews and reviewers as well (as I've seen happen with other Fanfics) from now on… Yeah, I will. Anyway, thanks for reading the story!! I got a question, though and I really need it answered to be able to continue the story… How many Villages and Countries exist in Naruto and what are their names? For example I know the Sand Village is in the Wind Country and the Leaf Village is from the Fire Country. Do you know anymore? Please help me?!

Well, I'm signing off, G'bye!


	6. Capture the Flag, Part 1

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Kishimoto does..

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!! Nothing more important to say besides that..

Review Reply Corner:

**Sirus183**: It's good to read that you continue to like my story as it continues on. Rather surprising, actually, since this is just a continuation fic.. Thanks for reading and here is an update!

**Shadows of Chaos**: Hehe, I will enjoy writing the long-time-no-sees in this story. Be sure that you'll find them, but it might take a while. I want to wait with it a little bit.

**Metaphor-sama: **Many thanks! Indeed, I also knew that the Stone Village was in the Earth Village, but that's beside the point. Thanks for liking my story!****

**Alden-san: **Thanks for the review! Indeed, it's very helpful, and as Metaphor-sama stated, the Stone Village is in the Earth Country.

**RuByMoOn17**: Thanks a million! Those are eight countries… How troublesome.. Thanks, I needed to know for my plot. I am still hoping there are more countries.

**EfrainMan**: Indeed.. I like it when in other stories characters who haven't seen in each other in ages meet up again. I'm not sure if I can describe that as well as in those other fics.

**Bubblytokki**: You really think they're all realistic changes? Thanks so much! I thought I might have made a mistake with this slightly new Naruto or the extra-wining Shikamaru. But thanks! I thoroughly enjoy your story Covenant!

**SilverKnight7**: Thanks! I always appreciate it when people are actually READING and LIKING my stories.

**ccs_lover**: Heh… I love you too!... I guess… More's coming up as I type…

**CurlsofSerenity**: All of it.. in one sitting?! I bet your behind must hurt… And yeah, I try to update one time in the week or at most eight days ^_^..

**Nobuyusha**: Wow! Thanks for reading it all! Uhmm, well, about teaching Neji the Rasengan… Well, as stated in the Manga, you would probably have to be similar to Naruto, Jiraiya and the Fourth Hokage… I guess they consider it the same as a blood-line limit..

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"Ne, Nara-sensei?" Konohamaru suddenly asked after a long silence inside the Sphere of Sand. Shikamaru didn't let out anything, except a short slightly louder huff than normal breathing. "You knew that guy that got us trapped in here, right?"

"Yeah… His name is Gaara… And he's one fellow you don't want to mess with. He kills because he enjoys it." Shikamaru answered, making the Genins afraid. 'I am known for my intelligence… but against a guy like Gaara… I don't think I can win.'

"Why didn't he kill us, then?" Aoba Ruin reacted. "He could've easily killed us here… Even you two Jounins could do nothing against it, then."

"Gaara is a very strong Shinobi, but he was still with one, while we were with eight." Ten-Ten said, not finishing the sentence, since she was not sure if that was enough to take on Gaara.

"It's not certain that he was alone… Anyway, he knew that there was a clone of mine walking with you guys and he didn't kill us.. which means he had more important things to do.. And with the way he went missing way back then… I don't think he's alone.." Shikamaru summed up. "Anyway, it's been quite some time since we got stuck in here… Ten-Ten, can you still sense Chakra in this thing?"

Ten-Ten shook her head. "No.. But I think we have to wait just a little longer… there's no telling what would happen if we're wrong…"

**There Where When is Now**

- Chapter 6

"Hokage-sama!" Lee reported as he stood in the Hokage's office with his students and the three Sand Shinobis. "We've succeeded in our mission with no problems."

Tsunade smiled at Lee. "At ease, Shinobi.." She let out with a smirk that was threatening to widen. Lee had changed so much since his operation. He had trained so hard and all expectations that came from his former sensei, Gai, were all proven correct. If anything, Lee had even surpassed those expectations as he surpassed Gai. Tsunade gazed at the Three Sand Shinobis. 

"Baki-san.." Tsunade said, addressing the leader of one of the strongest three-man squad of the Sand. "What brings you here?"

Baki coughed once and bowed before Tsunade before speaking up. "Hokage-sama… I was surprised the security around this Village isn't as high as I expected. I bring to you some news considering Akatsuki…"

Tsunade's eyes widened just a little bit as the completely focused on Baki. "Don't tell me, the Akatsuki is after the Hidden Scrolls?"

Baki frowned. "You knew already, yet you didn't increase the guards?"

Tsunade shook her head and hid her shame quite well as she spoke. "Our scroll already got stolen." She earned three frowns and four confused gazes. "Up until now we didn't know who stole them, but it seems it was the Akatsuki. One our Hyugas had spotted a Sharingan among them. It must have been Uchiha Itachi, unless Uchiha Sasuke has suddenly joined the Akatsuki."

Baki sighed a small sigh. "I see. So they have the first scroll in hands already. No one will be able to get into Sand Village. Our security is so tight even the smallest animal couldn't get passed it when it would be moving under ground."

 Tsunade nodded. "So, do you have any idea where the Akatsuki is headed to next?"

"Not long ago we thought the Akatsuki ceased to exist, yet it's still alive.. Right now, I don't think anyone has an idea where they would be heading to next. All we can do is visit other Villages and see if everything's ok.."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, I have already sent my best Chuunin Team accompanied with one Jounin towards the Grass Village. What will you three be doing?"

"The Mist Village will be our target to protect." Baki let out as he turned, uttering "May god be with us.." as he left.

Tsunade nodded and turned to Lee. "Well, Lee. You missed a lot of things… For one, You aren't the fastest Shinobi I know anymore.."

Lee's eyes widened. 'What?!'

Tsunade smiled as she read Lee's shock. "A female Shinobi attacked me during your mission.. And she was a lot faster than you… when she wasn't even serious.."

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God's eyes would widen if he would look down upon the Stone Village… A gigantic Sphere of sand was engulfed around the center, and around it, hundreds of Kyoubou Clones were guarding it. If god had a Byakugan, he would widen his eyes even more, because inside there was a ferocious battle going on.

Naruto was fighting off the Tsuchikage's strongest guards, while Neji and Gaara were slowly walking towards the Tsuchikage himself. "Oy, don't play around! I want to get away from here as fast as possible!" Naruto screamed, making Neji and Gaara turn around and frown. 

"Heh, usually you're the one who plays around too much, Naruto.." Neji stated as he saw the Tsuchikage reach for Shurikens, obviously, he had his Byakugan activated.

"Yeah, but this time… it feels different.." Naruto said unsure as he easily grabbed two guards by their legs. "Just hurry, ok?"

Neji smiled, nodded and smiled even more as he saw what the Tsuchikage was up to. 

"And all of this just for a stupid scroll.." Gaara muttered as his Shield of Sand protected him from hundreds of Kunais. Neji vanished from view, not bothering to use his Heavenly Spin, and instead chose to appear behind the Tsuchikage. Neji slightly tapped the Tsuchikage's Shoulder, expecting him to wince in pain. He frowned and sulked a bit as he jumped away as the Tsuchikage hardened his entire body and sent spiky stones all around him. 

Naruto caught a few that were heading for him with a smirk and started attacking the guard with them. Gaara still had his arms folded as the stones penetrated his Shield but were stopped by the Barrier of Sand. Neji used his Heavenly Spin in the air.

'How annoying… this Tsuchikage has a very interesting defence… my Gentle Fist style won't be effective against it at all… Power is needed.. but this is a Tsuchikage… so more is needed' Neji thought as he activated his Senshin-Byakugan. "Oy, Gaara! Why are you standing still? You could at least attack him once!"

Gaara smirked and shrugged before he performed a few hand seals. "Suna Shuriken Sukasshu!!"

The Tsuchikage braced himself. 'A Sand Shinobi and A Byakugan user, thus a Leaf Shinobi… The third I don't know.' He thought as he, too, performed a simple hand seal. "Ishi Tate!!"

As Gaara's Sand Shurikens hit the Stone Shield the Tsuchikage used to shield himself with, the Shurikens changed to sand and surrounded the shield. Gaara lifted his hand, also making the Shield that was around the Tsuchikage rise up into the air. 

Suddenly, Gaara felt the Tsuchikage behind him. 'Shit, he wasn't in that Shield the entire time!' But as soon as the surprise appeared in Gaara, it was replaced by amusement, as Neji appeared behind the Tsuchikage.

"Sorry, but it is over…" Neji stated. "This match was already over when Gaara managed to create this gigantic dome of Sand around of us." Neji said as he used his hands to emphasize his point. "You must feel aggravated that you can't move…" Neji commented with a smirk as he still stood behind the unmoving Tsuchikage. "Naruto did tell us to hurry up… so why not listen? Your death was decided when you let me hit you on your shoulder. You was overconfident that your defence would protect you.."

Gaara released his Jutsu on the empty shield of Stone the Tsuchikage had created and turn around, to stand face to face with the Tsuchikage, who was gritting his teeth and trying to move.. Naruto had already killed the guards with ease and was slowly walking towards them.

Neji continued. "You see, all my attacks are a part of a certain strategy… I am an advanced Hyuga and I have perfect Chakra control. When I hit you on your shoulder, I left an imprint of my Chakra on your body.. From a distance, I was able to make it envelop your entire body.. Your absolute defence is indeed absolute, but only for physical attacks…"

Neji narrowed his eyes. "Now that some my Chakra is controlling your body movements, similar to the Shadow Bind Technique, why don't you tell me where you've hidden your Secret Scroll of Hidden Jutsus?"

Tsuchikage snorted. "Heh! Why would I, the Tsuchikage, tell that to the three of you?! I will take that secret with me in my grave…" He spat out in Gaara's voice, who immediately punched him for it. 

"Watch it.."

Naruto stepped up to Neji and folded his arms behind his head, casting one last look towards the dead bodies he left behind. 

Neji made the Tsuchikage rise a little bit into the sky, using the Chakra, which was his, that was surrounding him. Neji made him look like he was crucified, in the air. Naruto briskly threw a few Shurikens at him, impaling his left and right arm. The Tsuchikage screamed. Neji spoke up again. "Now listen… It is impossible for your fellow Stone Shinobis to break through Gaara's Dome of Sand, or well, it would take them at least a day or two… Plenty time to make you suffer.. until you speak up."

"Why don't you just use your Byakugan, Neji?" Naruto suddenly asked. 

"Because the Hidden Scroll is somehow surrounded by a strange darkness, which also envelops a great area around it. But I have already told you this when we were learning the techniques from the Hidden Scroll of the Leaf… But I guess can't expect you to remember that…"

Naruto turned his back to Neji. "Be like that… I won't help you making him suffer now, Neji…"

Neji rolled his eyes and waited for Naruto to say something again..

"….. Fine… I will help, but only because I like it.."

Gaara meanwhile used sand to grip both of the Tsuchikage's arms and stretch them a great deal, making the man scream. 

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Such a gruesome sight.. Dead bodies were spread all around on the ground, while Rain Medic-nins were running around and trying to save the ones that still could be saved. Houses were burned down and people were crying for their lost ones. Sakura inwardly grieved with them as she walked behind Hinata and in front of Ino, Kiba and Chouji. In front of Hinata, the Jounin Mitarashi Anko was in the lead. Many Jounins were on missions and the ANBU section Anko was the leader from, didn't have a mission, so Anko was available. 

"What happened here?" Sakura wondered out loud, the emotion dread clearly etched in her voice. 

"I suspect the Akatsuki.." Anko answered. "I don't see why this Village would be attacked by any others.."

"Shouldn't we help them?" Sakura asked. "I mean.. just look… They're all in need of help… they're all… so much.. are dying.."

"Our mission was to protect the Grass Village, all else we should ignore..." Anko again answered, this time coldly. "But… there's a possibility that the Akatsuki has already attacked the Grass Village as well…" Anko continued. "When that is the case… we can help the wounded.."

"The Akatsuki.. do you think we can handle them?" Ino asked, although the question was directed at Anko, since she would be the one to know best. 

Anko shrugged. "Well, the Akatsuki works in teams of two, as I have heard of Jiraiya-sama... Hokage-sama told me the teamwork of your team is more than excellent.. Five Chuunins with perfect teamwork against two S-Ranked Missing-nins…. Well, that's a tough match-up.. I'd say it's a draw.."

The others went silent after that.

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"It seems they know the Akatsuki is going for the Scrolls… The Wind Country is probably the only country that has a solid defence… Too bad for them we're against them, ey?" Dareda noted as he watched the tight security around the gates of the Wind Country with his Byakugan. 

Itachi nodded. "Hm. I do not want to put too much effort in this… High Genjutsu will have to do."

Dareda smiled. "I agree. When fighting isn't a necessity, do not fight. How do you think the others are doing?"

Itachi glanced at Dareda for a short second, before he activated his Sharingan. "I think they're….. having fun.." 

A surprised look appeared Dareda's face. 'I never imagined him ever saying a sentence with the word 'fun' in it..'

"As you can see, the guards walk in circles in certain areas. Since you have the Byakugan, you can see more clearly how the guards look. As you can also see, there is a certain time where one guard can not see any other guards. It is then that we will make our move. Use Henge to transform into one guard and move towards one underground. Choose your timing well. Pull the guard under ground and kill him there. Than quickly jump up and take the guard's place. And then you're in."

Dareda nodded and knew Itachi was about to say more so he stayed silent.

"I will make my appearance in front of you and then I will quickly flee into the forest in not far from the gates you are supposedly 'protecting.' You order a few to come with you.. at least 6. Once you are in the forest, undo your Henge… I will use my Sharingan to hypnotize the guards you brought.  I will make them continue to guard the gates, and you will continue to use Henge and repeatedly bring more guards into the forest. When I do have all guards under my control with my Genjutsu, I will make all of them barge into the Country and cause mayhem all over. Once chaos ensues inside, we will make our move towards the Kazekage…"

Dareda nodded. "Very well.."

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"Ok, we're here… So, we do the same as in the previous Village? We already have one scroll… Maybe we should put it somewhere safe, before barging in here.." Mokito suggested as she looked at Sinobi and Kisame. 

"No, We should just rush in and get it over with.." Sinobi stated.

"Hey, you smell that? I smell smoke, there's a fire somewhere.." Kisame suddenly interjected. "And it seems there's a big Genjutsu surrounding the Grass Village.."

Mokito frowned. "You don't suppose I can just run through that Genjutsu as fast as possible? I hate Genjutsus.."

Kisame shook his head. "No, your speed won't mean a difference against Genjutsus.."

"I'll deal with the Genjutsu and the guards.. You two focus on getting the scroll, ok?" Sinobi proposed as he started gritting his teeth. "Step back…"

Kisame and Mokito jumped back and let their eyes wander skywards, where Thunderclouds appeared and merged with each other. They both lowered their gaze towards Sinobi again, to see that he was surrounded by small lightning bolts. "Well, it seems like he's going to his Berserk State, ey?"

Sinobi screamed and released dozens of Lightning bolts, letting them all scatter towards every direction around him. Kisame and Mokito dodged a few lightning bolts, before they saw Sinobi sped towards the gate and release a gigantic Lightning attack. Once it hit, the entire Village disappeared and another appeared a mile farther, a village which was exactly the same as the one Sinobi just destroyed the gates of.. 

"Such an annoying Genjutsu… How long will it take for Sinobi to find the real Village?" Mokito asked annoyed. "We should grab the scroll as fast as we can."

"Smell, Mokito… Can you tell where the smell of smoke and fire is coming from?" Kisame asked. 

They both started sniffing as Sinobi started running towards the third illusion that appeared, after he destroyed the second illusion of the village. 

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The wind that blew at his face and at his companions' faces carried with a strange dust. They had just landed on a big cliff and were looking upon a Village which has clearly just been attacked. They had come a long way before they came here and were rather tired, having travelled towards the Stone Village without rest, sleep and they ate on the way. It seems this was more important then Sasuke had originally thought.

"There was some strong Shinobis here, to do such a number and the powerful Stone Village… This village is knows for its solid defences, but as you can see… the center has crumbled completely… The pillars that protected the main Tower of the Village were knows for its indestructiveness.. Yet now, all of them are broken.." Hatsu said as he took a look on the Village below them with a slight frown. 

"It seems we are too late for the Hidden Scroll.." Kimimaro spoke as he set on the edge of the cliff. "This attack…. It must have been yesterday when the attackers left.." 

"The Akatsuki managed to get the Hidden Scroll of the Stone before we could" Orochimaru spoke. "That huge area in the center… Can you imagine what force is needed to create that?" He finished as he stepped next to Hatsu and Teri on the edge of the cliff.

"Hmm, look at those Villagers.. Can you believe how many dead people are there? I bet the village reeks of death…" Teri spoke with disdaining tone.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he saw the people run around, despair probably in their minds.. "I think the Tsuchikage got killed.."

"Heh, you can be sure of that… " Hatsu said with a smile. "Odd, though… This was rather quick.."

Sasuke's eyes suddenly widened as he watched the people and then he turned towards Orochimaru. "There are Leaf Shinobis down there."

Orochimaru frowned. "That's odd…. So the Leaf also knows of the Akatsuki's plans. Perhaps their Hidden Scroll got stolen as well…" Orochimaru thought out loud. The Leaf teams that were down there, however, didn't know of the Akatsuki's plans at all and were there for another mission.

"Nara Shikamaru and Ten-Ten.. now Jounins, it seems." Sasuke notified. "Are we still going down there?"

"I don't see why. There's nothing left for us to take anymore." Teri answered as she turned away from the Village and slowly started walking away.

Orochimaru pondered a little bit before speaking. "Yeah.. We should head for another Village as fast as possible. I don't want to see the Akatsuki getting more scrolls…"

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Shikamaru sighed as he saw the Genins goof around before him, while Ten-Ten sat beside him. 'How troublesome…'

They were totally shocked when they arrived in Stone Village the day before. Their Tsuchikage was dead, killed by intruders and many Genins, Chuunins and Jounins were killed as well. Both Shikamaru and Ten-Ten had their assumptions on who did all this…

Right now, they were waiting for the woman they had to pick up here and escort back to Leaf Village. But since a lot of people got killed the day before and their precious Tsuchikage also got killed, the woman probably needed her time to grief about it. 

'How troublesome…'

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"As we expected… no one's here anymore. I knew this would be a waste of time." Gai stated as he turned around to face Jiraiya and Kakashi. "So, what do we do now?"

Kakashi grabbed a book, which was written by the man who stood next to him and shrugged as he opened the book. "Well, I guess we should just return home.."

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Kisame and Mokito watched the Grass Village before them. After all the illusions Sinobi had destroyed, Mokito and Kisame managed to find the real location of the Village. Sinobi had rushed in immediately after unleashing a huge swirl of electricity towards the guards. Mokito and Kisame had noticed that the Village was already under attack. Sinobi, however, just rushed in, intent on killing all obstacles. 

Mokito and Kisame cautiously entered the village, with complete silence. They were just as fast as Sinobi, since he still had to kill several Chuunins and Genins on his way. And a bigger fight would occur when he encountered a Jounin. 

Two Jounins attacked Sinobi, but both were immediately slammed back by Sinobi's automatic Electric defence, which is only activated when he goes berserk. 

Mokito and Kisame watched Sinobi fight a huge group of Shinobis but looked farther ahead. The real fight was going on elsewhere.. And they had to go there as fast as possible, before the Hidden Scroll got stolen before they could steal it.

So, they left, leaving Sinobi behind to deal with all others that would form an obstacle for their mission. Sinobi's defence would not be penetrated, but his offence power was slowly decreasing because he didn't have control… Sinobi gritted his teeth as he tried to control himself and stop his Berserk Status.

The YasouKage was panting. The battle she was in was hard.. The three were doing really good.. Well, the two, the third just sat there, watching the fight. Hiraga Matsu, Baeda and Sukumi Tachi had already killed everyone who was protecting the YasouKage.. Hiraga Matsu had several headbands wrapped around his left arm, his neck, his forehead and his legs. Baeda had a piece of cloth, silk-like, covering her eyes and wore old clothes which seemed to be shredded a bit. Sukumi Tachi had a damaged headband of the Stone Village on his right shoulder. These three were Akatsuki members…

When Kisame and Mokito appeared, but stayed at a distance, they saw how the YasouKage got killed and the three jumped away. Mokito and Kisame soon followed them. Sinobi was already nearing, this time with a little more self-control… Just a little..

After a very short time, Mokito and Kisame watched as the three Akatsuki members entered a building and came out with the Hidden Scroll of the Grass. Mokito immediately used her great speed to snatch the Scroll from Tachi's hands, only to be pulled right back by the hair and punched in the stomach. She landed with a loud thump on her back. 

"How?! There's no way you could've matched me in my speed! How were you able to sense me so quickly?" Mokito screamed as she saw that the Scroll was no longer in her hands but in the old lady's hands. 

The old woman, Baeda, smiled as she stepped forward. "That's my ability… I don't have to match you in your speed just to catch you, child…"

Kisame snorted as he gripped his sword and took a look at his enemies. He suddenly appeared behind Sukumi and sliced him in half, only to see that Sukumi did split, but crumbled as well. Where blood should be seen, lay now stones. Kisame jumped up as he was about to get squeezed by two big boulders. He landed on top of the two boulders that just crashed into each other and faced Sukumi Tachi, who was already doing hand seals. 

"How did you do it?" Mokito asked, but didn't wait for an answer as she kicked and punched while appearing to the left side of Baeda. To Mokito's surprise, however, the punch and the kick didn't connect. Instead she felt Baeda's fist in her stomach. 'Damn… She's good… Her punches aren't effective at all…. But it seems my speed is no good against her… How can that be when she has that cloth covering her eyes?'

"Just because this silk is covering my eyes, doesn't mean I can't see you. In fact, this piece of silk is a necessity… because my eyes are too good without it…"

Hiraga Matsu observed the fight as he simply sat on the ground. 'These fighters are pretty strong…' He suddenly looked past Mokito and Baeda. 'Someone's coming..'

Hiraga rose to his feet as he saw Sinobi land in front of Mokito and Baeda. He looked intrigued as he saw the lightning bolts, which were surrounding Sinobi's body. 

Hiraga stretched his right arm, which made the bandages around it disappear as if they were being ripped off. Sinobi understood he was to be his opponent and watched his right arm. He saw the reflection of the light from the sun in it, which made the arm almost look… plastic.. It kind of looked fake, but from the looks of it, Hiraga could control the arm as if it was a real arm…

Hiraga uttered the words. "Let's play…"

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TBC

A/N: Ok!! I had this story finished already in the afternoon.. But I had to grab something up in my room and that's when my dad decided to check his e-mails… somehow the computer didn't work properly, as he said, so he restarted it… And I hadn't saved this chapter yet, which was already a bit over 4000 words… So you can imagine how mad I got… So, I had to type this whole story over again… which I managed to do in two hours.. man, I was sooo mad...  

I hope you don't mind that I took the name Yasou for the Grass Kage… YasouKage.. 

Oh well, next chapter, every Village gets alerted and prepares for an attack… The Leaf Village makes instructions to prevent this 'Era of Chaos' and goes on the hunt for the Akatsuki.. Meanwhile, Naruto, Neji and Gaara have some fun as they move for the Mist Village… Orochimaru and his little gang are headed for the Cloud Village, Itachi and Dareda are having a harder time that they expected and Kisame, Mokito and Sinobi get it real rough… Oh well… there's another very sweet thing going to happen but I'm not going to tell… Please Review!! Well, Signing off, G'bye!


	7. Capture the Flag, Part 2

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: Kishimoto is the one who owns all of Naruto. I only own the OCs in this fic… And even that not entirely, since most of them and their Techniques are based on Kishimoto's Characters.

Author's Note: Uh, fast update!! Prepare yourself for some action and some good conversations here and there… Oh, I also write poetry and sometimes I use lines form my own poems in this fic, because I think it fits… Oh, well, I guess that was pretty useless to mention.. I will soon put in a new Jutsu List, also with the new Characters, and I'll show you a list of the new Akatsuki Members.

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Review Reply Corner:

**CurlsofSerenity**: Heh, actually, I often update faster than once a week, I had this one finished one day after I got chapter 6 finished. But sometimes I wait with posting the chapter, when certain stuff still need to be done. Thanks for reading!

**Hattuteline**: Hey, man with the master plan! Actually, there are more than nine new recruits… excluding one particular one, you'd have nine… But you forgot Mishu Usadi, the woman who could summon more than one summon and taught Neji, Gaara and Naruto how to summon (more than one summon).

**Misu no Hikaru**: You don't have to wait any longer! Here's the next Chappie! Enjoy! And thanks for reading!

**Luikang (Loon_Luu)**: Next chapter is right here! Thanks for the review! Well, I'm kind of nervous to write about a 'long-time-no-see' encounter… But it'll be soon.

**Ccs_lover**: Well yeah, I lost more than 4000 words.. But all that's in the past now.. Gotta learn how to control my anger now… Don't worry about Hinata, she's an important part of the story…. I think… She could be killed off, though…

**DocDragon**: And thank you for the creation of Hiraga Matsu! He's a good fighter and it's fun writing about him. Thanks for following the story!

**Sirus183**: Well, no need to worry any longer, new Chappie is up! Thanks for the review and thanks for reading again!!

**Per**: I'm guessing it might take a long time. Surely, the Leaf couldn't think bad thoughts about little innocent Naruto and the dedicated Neji? However…. Well, read and find out! :P Thanks for reading!

**RuByMoOn17**: O_O, talented?! Me!? You must be crazy! Oh well, thanks for the compliment!! *Hands over the next chapter* Thanks for reading!

**Dark Nemesis 7**: My apologies! Here's a next chapter to make  it up ^_^..

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**There Where When is Now**

- Chapter 7

She was never motivated to try anything after she failed in what others expected her to do right. Forced to prove something you were not ready for yet made her sense of embarrassment grow. She already knew she would not live up to the expectations. The losses she had while she was just trudging with her head down through her life were too much for her insecurity and forced her to open the gates of her true potential. It was then that she showed everyone she was far beyond the expectations, it was then…

The knowledge of the Hyuga Curse Seal really surprised her and she felt really sorry for the Hyuga Branch Family. If she could, she would definitely change it. She had already begun by refusing to learn the Secret Hand Seal that could activate the Hyuga Curse Seal. Although Hyuga Hinata was known for her lower developed Byakugan, she still was able to read the human emotions with it. When she saw Hyuga Neji and the pain he carried with him, she understood. She also understood the grudge he held against her. It was just meant to be. Feelings like that simply can not be discarded.

But Neji had come to terms with it one day. Hyuga Hinata was thankful for that day. She felt a great weight being pulled off of her shoulders at that time. Hyuga Neji even took the time to advice her about her advancements of her Hyuga abilities. She took his advice to her heart and forced them out.

The massacre of the Hyuga clan really fell hard on her… She, her father and her little sister Hyuga Hanabi had survived just by not being in their local village of the Leaf. A few Hyuga Jounins had also survived. But most Hyuga Chuunins and all Hyuga Genins were killed.. Strange was, that the entire Branch Family wasn't attacked at all… Only the Main Family.. Hinata had lost aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces… She had no friends in the Hyuga Clan, because all saw her as a failure, so she had not lost any friends..

It was then, that Hinata was completely motivated to thrive for a rightful place in her own existence. She saw people race beyond her in skill, power and speed. But from then on, that would be no more. Hyuga Hinata was ready to avenge the Hyuga Main Family, she was ready to prove her worth and she was ready…. To bring back Neji and Naruto…

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Sinobi narrowed his eyes at Hiraga's strange right arm. He was no longer in his Berserker Status, but could resort to it when necessarily. Right now, he wanted control of his body. Sinobi frowned at the many headbands the man wore on his body, his neck, left arm and legs. Bur right now he felt like he should focus his attention on the peculiar arm. 

Sinobi watched with amazement as Hiraga's left hand dislocated itself from the arm. He saw him target the black hole at him. Sinobi didn't see any blood from the hole where once his right hand was. Suddenly, dozens of small black balls were shot at Sinobi. Sinobi jumped away, to avoid them.

"Keep avoiding them… They carry a deadly poison within… Also, they move at a high speed and will remain in your body, find a way in your blood and paralyze your movements…" Hiraga said with insanely wide eyes and a sneaky smirk.

Sinobi snorted. "Looks like I'll have to cut that arm off, then…" He said as he made several hand seals. As the seals stopped, his hands were suddenly surrounded by many small lightning bolts. "Rakurai no Jutsu!"

Hiraga dodged all lightning bolts Sinobi shot at him and between bolts shot back with his Arm Cannon. Sinobi and Hiraga were jumping around and shooting each other. 

During the shooting and dodging, Hiraga spoke. "You should quit… It is obvious your attack drains Chakra!" 

Sinobi who jumped to the left, right and left again, screamed back. "Well, not before you run out of little bullets!"

Hiraga smirked as he duck under a lightning bolt and rolled left, only to jump back again from another lightning bolt. "Not possible, my blood is the fuel of my Arm Cannon…"

Sinobi gritted his teeth as he performed a new set of seals… "Is that so?" Suddenly, the sky grew darker and Hiraga paused his shooting to look up at the sky. Sinobi uttered the words. "Dendou Bouffuu!!"

Hiraga swallowed as he saw a gigantic Electrical showdown high in the clouds, descend towards him and Sinobi… 'Oh shit…'

Sinobi smirked. "Electricity is my game, poison is yours… Let's see how you can handle my game…"

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"Naruto, would you just kill them already?" Neji said in whiny voice, which was very rare for him. "I'm getting tired of seeing three rabbits fly around the sky the entire time.. Yes, you can juggle, big deal…"

Naruto pouted after letting all three rabbits land on three Kunais. "Jeez, why are you stressed out?"

Gaara sat on the ground and was already eating his food as he watched the exchange between Naruto and Neji. Neji spoke. "Well, I'm just aggravated because that stupid Stone Village disappointed me so much… I've heard so many great stories about it. To think we made it crumble so easily. Such a weak Village…" 

It was really strange to see Neji act like this. Usually it was Naruto who whined of not having a challenge… Neji only occasionally whined. Then again, it had been a long time since they had a challenge…

Naruto grinned. "Well, we are kind of strong, Neji… I think even the entire Leaf Village would have problems defeating us…"

Gaara snorted. "We would have had problems with the Stone Village too if I had not used my Dome of Sand… We must finish the job quickly, remember? No time to let an entire Village attack us, anyway."

Neji snorted back. "They should feel ashamed… They weren't even able to get passed your Dome of Sand…"

Naruto chuckled. "Well, there were about a hundred of my clones guarding it.. and the Dome isn't that easily breached either."

Neji sighed. "Alright, alright… I just hope the next village is better…"

Gaara and Naruto nodded, agreeing with Neji. "Which Village are we heading for next, anyway?" Naruto asked.

"I suggest we head for the Thunder Country, the Hidden Scroll is most likely in their biggest Village, the Cloud." Neji explained. "For tonight, we stay here."

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So far, this was not her day. She couldn't get any hit in, it seemed her opponent was someone who was immune to TaiJutsu. Mokito was definitely not good in any other thing. Thankfully Baeda's punches weren't that hard. Mokito, for the first time in a very long time, performed a few hand seals… "Ninpou; Katon TaiJutsu!!"

Baeda frowned behind her silk cloth as Mokito got surrounded by fire-like Chakra. As Mokito threw a punch at Baeda from a distance, Baeda's eyes widened and she was forced to jump out of the way as a wave of fire soared below her. As she jumped however, Mokito appeared above and performed a roundhouse kick to send Baeda back to the ground. Mokito's eyes widened as her foot went straight through Baeda's body. Her attacking foot got grabbed by Baeda, but was released very quickly as Baeda was about to burn her hands. 

Both of them landed on the ground again. "What kind of strange body do you have?!" Mokito yelled, flaring a bit of her fire-like Chakra.

Baeda smirked. "As you can might have noticed.. you can not touch me when I am on the ground. Nor can you touch me when I am in the air. And with those two, I have different defensive methods.. When I'm standing, a constant Chakra flow dances around me, ready to move my hands or feet to block any physical attack. In the air, the Chakra lets me blend with 'nothing.' Or to put it in other words… I can faze through things…"

Mokito snarled. 'Physical attacks won't work against her at all… And my Katon TaiJutsu is the only Ninjutsu I have and even that is partly physical…'

Meanwhile, Kisame and Sukumi were staring each other down. "Hand over the scroll, Tachi.."

Sukumi grinned. "So you know of the mission? Sorry, I can not give you the Scroll… you'll have to take it from us." 

"With pleasure." Kisame finished as he gripped his sword and performed a single-handed seal and then put both his hands on his Katana. "Itsuha Chakra no Katana!"

Sukumi slightly jumped back as Kisame's sword began to emanate a weird Chakra. Kisame chuckled. "Do you remember that my sword eats Chakra? Well, what is eaten, must also come out…" Kisame said. 'I hope this will be enough for this guy… I'm using a part of Gaara's Chakra when we last trained together.' Kisame thought as the weird Chakra the sword radiated, suddenly appeared around the sword and began to surround Kisame. "Let's go!!" Kisame screamed as he disappeared.

Hiraga gritted his teeth as the Electric Storm Sinobi created was slowly approaching him. 'Shit… there's only one thing I can do…' Hiraga quickly grabbed the backpack on his back and opened it, revealing dozens of drawings.. Sinobi frowned as he put one drawing on the ground, bit in his finger for blood and put his hand on the drawing. The drawing was very strange, Sinobi noted. A four headed bird…

"Kage Henkei no Jutsu!!" Hiraga screamed and smoke surrounded him. Sinobi's eyes widened as before him, from out of the smoke, a four-headed bird flew and was just barely able to fly away from the Electric Storm. Sinobi couldn't believe his eyes.. 'What the hell?' Before he could reason with himself that four-headed birds didn't exist, said bird attacked him from behind with its vicious claws slashing at Sinobi's back. Sinobi screamed in pain. He crouched and threw Kunais at the bird, which simply dodged it by flying up. 

Sinobi rose on his feet and shot a lightning bolt at the bird. "Rakurai no Jutsu!" The bird got hit and where once was a bird, now there was Hiraga again. He landed on the ground several feet before Sinobi and smiled as he aimed his Arm Cannon at him again and began to fire.

Sinobi dodged and shot lightning bolts again, repeating the previous attack styles..

Baeda suddenly moved behind Mokito, but Mokito was way faster than her and jumped away. "I may not be able to attack you, old woman, but your attacks aren't effective against me either!! You're simply too weak to actually hurt me!"

Baeda chuckled. "Is that so? Now that you're standing there… you're surrounded by dozens of exploding tags… Prepare for a lot of pain.."

Mokito simply vanished before the exploding tags exploded and appeared a few feet behind Baeda. "You underestimate my speed, old woman."

Baeda suddenly rushed towards Mokito. She jumped, while Mokito guarded herself with her hands. Baeda suddenly fazed through Mokito and jumped forward. Mokito turned and saw that Baeda had the Hidden scroll that was strapped on her belt. 'S-shit!' Mokito quickly turned to Kisame and Sinobi. "You guys!! She has our Hidden Scroll!! One of you two should be fighting her!! She's immune to physical attacks!!"

Hiraga chuckled as he heard that, but frowned as Sukumi landed next to him. "As much as I would like to finish the fight between us, Hoshigaki, We have to get going…" Hiraga nodded his head in a weird way, while Baeda chuckled. "Thanks for another Hidden Scroll, by the way!"

Mokito rushed forward, but was stopped by Baeda, who used her Chakra to negate Mokito's physical movements. When Mokito saw her attack failed, she wanted to turn towards Sukumi, but was rammed in her stomach by Baeda and then punched on a sensitive spot in her neck by Sukumi, who knocked her out. 

"She was probably the only one who could have stopped us from moving away… You two are too slow…" Sukumi smiled. "Goodbye." He uttered as the three leaped away.

Kisame cursed as he let the Chakra that was surrounding him back into the sword..

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Dareda was walking amongst the guards of the Wind Country. Itachi was watching from afar how Dareda succeeded in killing one of the guards underground and quickly jump up, without anyone noticing anything. Impressive, really, since you, at most, had a second to do that. But Dareda succeeded nonetheless. Right now, he slowly walked forward and let the guards see him. He gazed at Dareda, who was rushing at him and he smiled inwardly as most guards followed. Dareda, in his Henge form, screamed that only 8 should come with him. Itachi immediately turned around and jumped away. 

Dareda and 8 other Wind guards followed in hot pursuit. As the came into a clearing past the trees, Itachi was standing still with his back towards them. Dareda watched as he turned around and had his Sharingan activated. Dareda quickly closed his eyes, while the others looked straight into his eyes… 

Within all of the guards' minds, Itachi spoke in a cruel voice… "For the next 72 hours, you will all know who your true master is… and face pain by my hands…" And then, all eight of them were ruthlessly tortured inside their selves. 

What for them felt like 72 hours, was just one minute in the real world. Before the last minute was over, Itachi spoke one last thing in their minds. "Obey me or I will repeat the process all too…. happily.."

Itachi actually made sort of zombies of them, they all nodded as they all lay on the ground in great pain… Dareda watched on as Itachi cruelly smiled. 'That Mange Sharingan is truly dangerous… He can use it four times a day.. and that's when he doesn't use anything else… So, it's safe to say, today he'll be using it three times..'

They repeated the same attack several times, getting a total of thirty guard on their side. Itachi had used the Mange Sharingan three times and Dareda advised to attack the Village now. It would be easy, there were several real guards left now and those would easily be killed in silence.

When Itachi's controlled Wind Guards destroyed everything in the Village and got all attention from the other Shinobis, Itachi and Dareda quickly jumped towards the Kazekage Tower in the Sand Village..

It took them several minutes to reach the gates of the SAND Village and they easily got past it, with Dareda killing the guards Hyuga style. In was almost no time Itachi and Dareda were up against the Kazekage's personal guards, but Itachi and Dareda simply revealed their Byakugan and Sharingan and an unfair battle ensued. 

Jumping up and entering the tower, Itachi and Dareda stood face to face with the Kazekage…

"Akatsuki, right?" the Kazekage stated. "You two are good… to be able to get past the two gates…But this is where it ends for you two…"

Itachi and Dareda looked at each other, before looking back at the Kazekage again to see he had already finished a set of hand seals. 'He's fast at Jutsus..' Both Itachi and Dareda thought..

"Maikiri!!" Kazekage screamed.

Itachi and Dareda felt the sudden wave of Chakra pass them and surround them, but also the Kazekage. "I can assume I won't be able to defeat the two of you.. To save everyone, I have developed this skill… It's a whirling motion that also slices. Right now it's around us, whirling and whirling, but in the meantime, it's growing smaller and it will eventually rip all of us apart."

"You'll kill yourself?" Dareda questioned. 

The Kazekage nodded. "Yes, to prevent you from getting the our Hidden Scroll…"

Itachi shook his head. "How foolish… We will kill you here anyway and… we will get the Scroll as well.."

The Kazekage snorted. "You'll have to kill me and get passed my special Jutsu for that…"

"Senshin-Byakugan!!" Dareda suddenly yelled and looked straight at and through the Kazekage. "Damn, it's a shame you can't use the Mange Sharingan again, Itachi… This guy is pretty good.."

Itachi almost shrugged as he activated his Sharingan. "No matter.."

The Kazekage swallowed nervously. 'A Sharingan?! And a… weird looking Byakugan… Both are from Leaf Village, then. That must be Uchiha Itachi…'

Dareda suddenly began to sum up. "Ok, he's nervous now, clearly he now knows that we're pretty good.. A weakness of his… He does not have the body to be good in TaiJutsu. Which means this guy is probably very good at Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. The way for us to beat this guy is… for me to fight him.. Hyuga Style.. There won't be any openings to attack me, but with him there could very well be.. Attack when you can from a distance, Itachi."

Itachi nodded. This battle will not take long. The only problem was the surge of the deadly whirling Chakra around them. Would they have enough time after they defeat the Kazekage to be able to escape this whirl?

The Kazekage dodged all attacks Dareda threw at him and suddenly ran circles around Dareda very quickly, making Dareda spin and being lifted up in the air slightly. Dareda gritted his teeth as he tried to regain control of his body. With the way he was turning now, he had to spin the different direction to get out of it. "Kaiten!!"

Dareda landed on the ground again and immediately had to dodge the Kazekage's "Kaze Hejin!!" or Wind Blade. The wind and the Chakra that was put into the attack was meant to shred Dareda's body. A person without a Byakugan would not have been able to escape it, but Dareda had a Senshin-Byakugan and had made it look easy to evade it. He quickly yelled "Chakra Chuubu!!" as the Kazekage tried another Wind Blade. The Kazekage got punched in the stomach and grabbed by the neck by Dareda as soon as the Wind Blade got negated by Dareda's Chakra Paralysis. Dareda smirked as he yelled. "It's over… Tenketsu-Kaiten!!"

As the Kazekage fell at Dareda's feet, he got picked up again and Dareda did a combo using Gentle Fist, totally affecting the Kazekage's body. Itachi suddenly spoke up. "Dareda, his Maikiri is nearing…"

Dareda nodded and turned towards the Kazekage.. "Look good now, Kazekage, I'll show you a move that can deflect your special Jutsu…" 

Itachi slowly walked towards Dareda, stepped up next to him and nodded. Dareda did a few hand seals. "Kaunta-Kaiten!!"

The Kazekage stared at Dareda's Jutsu with wide eyes. He was spinning, just like with the normal Kaiten, but he was actually pushing his deadly Chakra in his Maikiri back.. 'What.. That's impossible…'

Dareda stopped spinning as soon as the Maikiri faded away. "Heh, you underestimated us, even though you knew you would lose against us. That's pathetic.. My Kaunta-Kaiten uses with a counter-effect, while the user does not get any damage in. It uses up a lot of Chakra, but it gets the job done. I used the Chakra you used in your attack against your attack. Devious, is it not?"

"You will tell us where the Hidden Scroll is…" Itachi whispered as he began to walk towards the Kazekage…

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What a great mission it was. It was nothing compared to what he came to hear as he returned back in Leaf Village. He came back at the same time Jiraiya-sama, Gai Maito-san and Hatake Kakashi-san came back. Immediately, he came to know every Jounin, Chuunin and Genins weren't sent on missions anymore. It seems there was very important meeting in the Hokage Tower. So he followed Jiraiya, Kakashi and Gai to the Hokage Tower. 

His own mission was nothing compared to this, Shigeru Sarutobi thought as the Hokage explained to all of them that the Akatsuki was making a great move and were collecting all of the Hidden Scrolls of all Countries… The Third Hokage, his uncle, who had deceased, told him about the Hidden Scrolls once and the myth it entailed. Surely, that story couldn't be a truth. At that time, he considered a story told by an old man, who once in a while spoke gibberish.. 

Yet here he came and saw the Fifth Hokage take the story serious. Her orders, grow stronger and prepare for the greatest battle ever… How odd, all she told us to do was… "Go train!"

Tsunade-sama stopped speaking and stared at all of us, I don't know how she does that. I looked everywhere in the room of the meeting and was amazed by all those serious looks. Even Jiraiya-sama, who was usually so aloof, was serious now. I saw Kakashi wasn't grabbing for Jiraiya-sama's book, which he always did on moments of silence. Well, what's a Jounin like me to do? I am a Sarutobi… and when this Village is in danger, I shall protect it with everything I can… I am a Genjutsu specialist, know my Ninjutsu well and have a few Kinjutsus to add to my collection. The first thing to do is make the biggest Genjutsu ever to surround our Village… Man, that will be so tiring…

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"Ne… what do you guys think about your old Village?" Naruto suddenly asked after a very long silence… "I know for a fact I hate mine, for hating me. Just to say, Neji, I will destroy the Leaf when the time comes…"

Gaara nodded. "The feeling is similar… My Village should pay for its ignorance. The only penalty is a stop to its existence."

Neji smiled. "I hold only a grudge against the Main Family of the Hyuga Clan… And since Dareda and Itachi almost killed all of them, as they stated, I don't really have a goal.. except to kill the remaining members of the Hyuga Main Family."

For some reason, Naruto thought about Hinata. "Hyuga.. Hinata.."

Neji looked from the corners of his eyes at Naruto. "Indeed… Hyuga Hinata.. She's probably the only one of the Main Family…."

Naruto gazed curiously at Neji, while Gaara trudged forward with his arms folded. 

"I won't kill…" Neji said, finishing his previous sentence.

Gaara stopped walking. "I too will probably spare a few…"

Naruto grinned. 'Precious people?'

"My sister and my brother… they do not deserve to die…" Gaara stated as he resumed his walking again. Neji followed him. Naruto waited for a little while. "Who are my precious people?"

Sadly, the only image that flickered through his mind was.. Iruka-sensei..

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"We're here… Thunder Country.." Teri spat. "Seems like they have no idea what's going on. It's…. too… peaceful."

Orochimaru nodded his head with a grin plastered on his face. "Let's destroy its peace…"

Suddenly, they all felt two Shinobis approach them from behind. Sasuke, Kimimaro, Orochimaru, Hatsu and Teri turned around. To stand face to face with a male and a female…

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the headbands. 'Both are missing-nins from the Stone Village, it seems.'

"Hey there… Name's Takabashi Serra. Nice to meet you. All of you don't seem to carry headbands… Are you just regular villagers from the Cloud Village?" Serra said, but paused as she saw several weapons on Sasuke's leg and musical instruments tied behind Teri's belt. 

"I am Takabashi Nakao.. Seems to me you are Shinobis… State your names and we'll fight." Nakao proposed. "Let's see if you guys can fight.. It's been a while since we had a good fight, ey, Serra?"

Serra shook her head. "We came for a specific reason… We don't have time to waste on these guys.."

Orochimaru chuckled. "Akatsuki, huh? You came for the Hidden Scroll, right?"

Both Serra and Nakao looked puzzled for a moment, but nodded. 

Sasuke braced himself as did the others. "Well, let's see who'll get it…"

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TBC

Author's Note: I'll be posting the Jutsu List soon after I posted this one. Next chapter is an all out battle between Sasuke, Orochimaru and the others and the two new Characters! And it's a little more focused on Hinata's Chuunin team, Sakura, Ino, Kiba, Chouji and of course Hinata herself…


	8. Capture the Flag, Part 3

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: Kishimoto own Naruto, not me... 

Author's Note: It could be so that you find that this chapter isn't advancing enough for the plot, but I really thought this was necessarily. My apologies, but this chapter is mostly action-based. I hope you'll enjoy the fights. I was planning on a little more Hinata and Sakura description, but decided against it, because I found out the fights in this Chapter take whole load of space, so my sincerest apologies if this upsets you, I'll make it up.… Two new characters appear and they're created by the author Hattuteline! He deserves the praise! Well, enjoy!

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Review Reply Corner:

**Shadows** **of** **Chaos**: Well, the Akatsuki does work in teams of two and sometimes three and they have a perfect attack tactic in mind already, so a Kage would have it extremely difficult against and organised team of S-ranked criminals. Many thanks for the review!!

**Misu** **no** **Hikaru**: Thanks for reading! Well, the meeting between Naruto and Sasuke… I am eager to write about that one, but it'll take some time before I actually get to that. I hope I'll write it good…

**liukang** **(****loon_luu@hotmail.com****)**: Uhmm, new techniques? I'm excited to read about them, just send them to my e-mail if you have any and I'll let you know if I'm gonna use some..

**Sirus183**: Thanks! I'm glad you like my story!! It was a pretty fast update back then, this one took a little longer, my apologies. Then again, some author's update once every two months.. But the stories of those certain authors are really good.

**Ccs_lover**: Thanks a million! I'm so glad you like my OCs, I was worried you and all others might hate them. In this chapter there's pretty much action as well, I hope you enjoy!

**Cookie6**: Precious people, precious people, that's what Naruto's all about, at least, that's what I think. Don't worry, I've got it all figured out.. for now.. Thanks for the review!!

**DocDragon**: ^_^ Thanks! It is really entertaining to write about your guy, he'll play a bigger part in the future, as many others will… And for new Jutsus, I accept all, just send them to me and I'll let you know whether they'll make it in the story or not.

**RuByMoOn17**: Well, sometimes I don't describe new Jutsus I made very well in the Chapter they occur, so for explanation, there's always the Jutsu List to go search it up. Thanks for liking my story!!

**SilverKnight7**: Updated as I type! Thanks for the review and for reading this new chapter!

**Ziel**: There's a time for description writing, there's a time for dialogue and there's a time for… confrontations of old rivals!! That will be so sweet. But that time has yet to come and it might take a while…

**LMA**: I am honoured! The first thing I do when I wake up is (when I can) also run to the PC and see which authors have updated. ^_^

**Tarnox**: Heh, I'm kind of NaruHina fan also, but NaruSaku and NaruIno and NaruTema are entertaining as well. Anyway, Naruto hates all of Leaf, because of the horrible memories. Hinata never ever said to Naruto that she genuinely cared for, not like Iruka. It would be a little OOC if Naruto suddenly excluded Hinata from his 'to-kill'-List, but included Sakura. But don't worry… I like Hinata!

**Dark** **Nemesis** **7**: Thanks a bunch for liking my story! Is it me.. or do many FF.net members have number 7 behind their Account Names? I know, the Jutsu List is pretty long, ey?

**Nobuyusha**: ^_^! Cloud Village? Naruto, Neji and Gaara are currently in the Mist Village, while Sasuke, Orochimaru and the others are in the Cloud… Heh, Thanks to you, I now know who of the new Akatsuki Members carries the Hidden Scroll of the Mist. Also, thanks for liking my Jutsus and the story!

**Pyr00tje**: Heh, you know what happens when Naruto loses control… he… will… go look for all the Ramen in the world and forced the whole world to like it! Err.. that wasn't funny at all, huh? That's why I don't write Humor fics… -_-'

**EfrainMan**: Reunions are always interesting to read about, huh? Many people enjoy the same things in Fanfiction. I don't know if I can really write reunions that well. Sort of like a 'It's been a while..'… or a.. 'How about a hug?'

**Ino Pig**: Thanks for the many reviews, Ino Pig! I know by now you like it when Naruto is a master of disaster.. or a power-freak.. I'll try to entertain you more!

**The-TempesT**: :D, I really am afraid of writing the reunions between the Naruto characters. I'll try my best and hope it's good enough… Thanks for liking my story!

**:D**: Yep, and the Jutsu List has expanded again! With two new Characters! I hope you'll enjoy this new Chapter!

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**There Where When is Now**

- Chapter 8

Such a horrible mess the Akatsuki left behind. Dozens of dead bodies lay sprawled on the ground, the YasouKage had been killed.. The Akatsuki has succeeded in their mission in this Village as well. Mitarashi Anko had told them to stay in the Village and gather information about the situation, while she herself went to the High Council of the Grass, also to obtain information.

"It's horrible… How can the Akatsuki do a crazy thing like this?" Sakura wondered aloud as she sadly shook her head while walking next to Ino. 

"I don't know… To tell you the truth.. I'm somewhat afraid if we have to face the Akatsuki… Sure they have to pay for this… But do WE have to make them pay?" Ino asked, being slightly concerned.

Sakura sighed. "I guess… As a team, we've managed to do some crazy stuff… Even when we thought it was way on top of our heads… we managed. We will simply… continue to do so.." 

Ino looked at Sakura, her look betraying that she didn't entirely believe Sakura. "I… I hope so.."

The two of them looked up to see Kiba and Chouji approaching them from a distance and seeing the looks on their faces, it seems they hadn't found a lot of survivors either... If there were survivors, they couldn't speak. The Akatsuki was very awful in their ways, but also very good in it…

"Well, seems like almost everybody got wiped out here… I smell electricity activity, it's still around actually. I'm thinking a guy used some major electricity attacks here. Also… a faint smell of… old blood… reached my nose.." Kiba noted as he and Chouji stood before Sakura and Ino. 

Hinata was also scouting around the village, looking for healthy people who still had the ability to talk. The Grass Village wasn't that powerful compared to the Leaf, but still stronger than the Rain. 

 "I think we should just wait for Hinata and Anko to come back." Chouji suggested as he stuffed an entire chips bag in his mouth. Only to pull the (now) empty bag back out. 

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"Well this is certainly boring…"

The other two agreed as they looked upon a village which seemed to be in the process of being restored after a major attack. It was very evident the Akatsuki has already been here not too long ago. The three people that stood watching it from afar sulked.

"Ok, this is just stupid! What do we do now? We have one scroll while we should have two! Itachi and Dareda would get the Scrolls from the Sand and the uh… other village.. Cloud, right? And Mokito and the others would get the Grass and the Rain Hidden Scrolls." Naruto said. "I bet they completely succeeded while we only have one!"

"Chill, Naruto. We'll simply get some clues from this Village and we could try to hunt down the Akatsuki…" Neji explained as he eyes scanned the Village.

Gaara smiled. "That will certainly be the biggest challenge we can get right now… Yes, we should do so…"

Naruto, even though he was disappointed by this Village, smirked. Suddenly he turned his head backwards. Neji immediately activated his Byakugan… "Correct, Naruto… We have company…"

Naruto and Gaara narrowed their eyes at the direction. "Who?"

Neji frowned. "Konoha ANBU…. Hunter-nins.. Seems they're after the two of us Naruto.."

Gaara smiled. "Finally… a little enjoyment. Hunter-nins are usually talented."

Neji began summing up. "One from the Aburame Clan, one from the Inuzuka Clan and two others, I don't which clans they're from, but they can't be from a clan with a Bloodline Limit, otherwise I would have known the Clan. This should not be too hard.. I'll be taking on their leader, who's from the Aburame Clan.. It is important to break their formation. Pick an opponent." Neji said. 

'I'll face the one from the Aburame Clan…. Time for a second match… Aburame Shino…' Neji thought as he smirked. 'This will be fun…'

Gaara and Naruto looked at each other. "Inuzuka Clan is a wild clan… he probably has an animal with him.." Naruto said.

Neji nodded. "Indeed… a very strong wolf…"

Gaara and Naruto looked at each other again. "So, who do you want to fight, Naruto?" Gaara asked with a glint in his eyes, being very excited. 

Naruto shrugged yet itched a bit as he was eager to fight the Konoha Shinobis. Gaara smirked. "You take the one from that Inuzuka Clan, then. I want to play with the other two…"

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"I suggest you just take a hike…" The woman hissed as she and her brother faced the five high ranked criminals before her. "You may seem strong, but it's no use if you don't know the origins of our techniques… While we…. know yours."

Orochimaru snorted and was still in Kabuto's 'skin' as he slightly chuckled. "You're just with two.. We are with five and we have an Uchiha with us. His eyes will tell us how you fight. And even if they won't, we're all geniuses here… You are the ones who should… take a hike." 

"Heh! Don't say she didn't warn ya!" The boy shouted as he gathered Chakra. 

Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan and the others also prepared themselves. The fight didn't begin immediately as they stared each other down. Serra and Nakao were both grinning. 

"Sharingan, hm? Interesting, I've never fought a Sharingan user before…" Serra mused out loud. "The others are boring however… Normal Grass and Sound Shinobis.."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the Chakra that was beginning to form around the two Takabashis. 

In a split second, Sasuke was dodging a fist which was destined to rearrange his face and a knee that was planning on leaving an imprint in his stomach. Sasuke dodged the knee with his own knee since he had no time and found that Nakao's power in his knee exceeded his by far. Sasuke flew backwards because of that simple blow. 'Damn… he uses a lot of Chakra in his attacks…' Sasuke thought as he landed a few feet farther. Nakao in the meantime was already on the hunt for Orochimaru. Sasuke watched as Serra leaped highly and landed just in front of Hatsu and Teri… 'These two fighters…'

Orochimaru could only block and evade the attacks Nakao was throwing at him. After a few blocks, Orochimaru noted that is was wiser to dodge his attacks, because his blows were a little… too… effective, for his taste. 

Hatsu received a kick on his ankle and a blow to the stomach, before he could finish the hand seals he was doing. Teri was jumping backwards and had already sent an attack Serra's way. The sound wave never hit home as Serra wasn't where Teri thought she was. Her attack lingered around the area as Teri controlled its Chakra. Teri noticed Serra few feet left from her and sent all the Chakra from the still present attack towards her. At the same time the attack hit, Teri found a sharp blade hit her in the side.. Before she was forced to crouch and hold her side in pain, she saw how her own attack hit her target… but her target was a…. Bunshin.

Serra chuckled behind her as she kicked the crouching Teri in the other side, making her bounce hard against a huge boulder. Teri spat blood out of her mouth as soon as she landed again. Serra was approaching her again, but was forced to block an intruding foot right in front of her face. Hatsu noted that Serra blocked his attack also with Chakra in her arms. 'These two are especially Chakra based… If only a Hyuga would be amongst us…' He thought as Serra approached him again.

Sasuke saw how Orochimaru was having a bit of a problem with his opponent. 'These guys are somehow… stronger than I expected of Akatsuki members… They are very high skilled in TaiJutsu… My Sharingan can barely keep up…' Sasuke thought as Orochimaru used his special Chakra-style punches which would affect the muscles from the body, but was surprised to see that the Chakra in Nakao's arms easily negated its effects… He attacked as soon as Nakao kicked Orochimaru skywards. Sensing that Nakao had more in store for Orochimaru he quickly attacked him. 

Sasuke wasn't surprised that his sudden attack was easily parried by a strange Chakra wave that came from Nakao's hands. Sasuke's immediate kick to the head was evaded by a slight crouch and Sasuke had to step aside to avoid the coming uppercut. Sasuke continued with a roundhouse kick but was suddenly attacked from above by Nakao's foot and Sasuke's face made a painful impact on the ground. He watched from the ground as Nakao sprinted towards Orochimaru. 'Damn… he actually defeated me in speed… It will not happen again!'

Hatsu took five harsh punches to the chest but managed to jump away from the finishing kick and completed a seal. "Hakaze Atemi!!" Hardened leaves were spinning as they were shot from Hatsu towards Serra. Serra smirked as she leaped over the attack and planned on planting a kick on Hatsu. Hatsu immediately performed a new technique. "Hatsuiku Sekisho!!"

Serra's kick landed in a mess of leaves, trees, bushes, twigs and all alike and her foot got stuck in it as well. She gritted her teeth as she struggled to get out of Hatsu's barrier's grip. She succeeded, but only because Teri landed a hard elbow straight at her jaw. Serra landed a few meters away on her side and immediately jumped back up. "How annoying…"

Sasuke watched as Nakao continued to use raw power and simply punched and kicked away at high speed with Chakra in his hands and feet. All Orochimaru could do was dodge, he had no time to perform any seals and had no time to start attacking back. Nakao definitely had the advantage. 'Takabashi, ey? They seem to be very good in what they do… High stamina, that's for sure…' He thought as Nakao was still battering away at Orochimaru's expense. 

"Sasuke… I'll help Orochimaru-sama… You observe and try to find a way to beat them." Kimimaro stated as he disappeared and reappeared between Orochimaru and Nakao, with a bone in his hands that was about to slice Nakao's face apart. But Nakao had already sensed the movement and had stepped backwards. 

The bone got easily crushed by a simply blow from Nakao's fist, which surprised all of them. Kimimaro's surprise took too long and Nakao had time to punch Kimimaro's ribcage and Orochimaru knew he heard something crack as Kimimaro fell on his back. As Orochimaru reached for Nakao's neck with a Senei Yashuu, he saw that this Nakao quickly used Kawarimi no Jutsu. He watched as, behind him, Nakao was quickly descending upon Kimimaro, who was lying on the ground from the previous attack. 

"Raihou!!" 

Nakao ruthlessly landed with a Chakra induced attack on Kimimaro's form, making the ground around Kimimaro and himself tear apart from the sheer power. Orochimaru and Sasuke watched wide-eyed as from out of the smoke, Nakao jumped and landed in front of Sasuke. "That leaves only you two…" And Sasuke activated his Curse Seal…

Blow after blow, kick after kick.. this girl sure knew how to fight, Hatsu thought as he jumped away from every attack Serra threw at him. An occasional block indicated him that she possessed a great power. He had tried his Growth Entanglement on her, but was surprised to see Serra spinning like top with her hands stretched out, freeing her from his powerful attack. Right now, he and Teri were having trouble with their opponent. Teri's Sound attacks were fast, real fast, but too slow for Serra… It seemed the woman was very gifted in the art of fighting.

Hatsu gasped for air as a powerful blow made its way inside his body, through his stomach. Hatsu crouched in pain as he heavily breathed and heard Serra jump away. He could hear that Teri started fighting with Serra a small distance away. 'Damn….' Hatsu started coughing. 'That sure hit me good…'

Teri had already manipulated the sounds around her and was trying all she can to get them into Serra's system, but the woman was really a handful as she made the weirdest, unpredictable movements. 

"Raiouken… Hishouken…" Nakao mumbled as he watched the black marks swim on Sasuke's skin. 'A Curse Seal on someone with a Sharingan? He must be a very impatient one…'

Sasuke frowned as he saw yellow Chakra surround Nakao's left fist and a high amount of blue Chakra surround the other. Sasuke had quite enough of it. Kimimaro was hurt badly, perhaps even dead… He lurched towards Nakao and his fist connected with Nakao's right fist. Sasuke tilted his head to avoid Nakao's left fist and kneed Nakao in the stomach, before punching Nakao to the ground. Sasuke jumped backwards and performed a few hand seals and sent a "Katon, Karyu Endan!!" towards Nakao, who was still on the ground. 

He narrowed his eyes as Nakao ran beneath the fire attack and managed to avoid it, before he leaped towards himself. Sasuke immediately performed a new set of seals after he threw one Shuriken. "Kage Jiten Shuriken no Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted as he started spinning while Nakao approached him in mid-air. Nakao watched as hundreds of Shurikens twirled around Sasuke, Nakao couldn't stop approaching Sasuke since he was in mid-air and got hit by a few Shuriken, on which he fell down to the ground.

Nakao landed on the ground and watched as Teri flew by him with a very pained expression on her face. Nakao steadied himself as he saw that Hatsu, Teri and Kimimaro were now out of the battle. The grey-haired man with glasses and the Uchiha were now left. He smiled as Serra landed beside him. "What's wrong, Nakao-kun? Having a bit of a problem with your opponents? So, you only managed to knock one of them out?"

Nakao angrily frowned at his older sister. "Shut up, these two are pretty good… Don't interfere, they are mine!"

Serra narrowed her eyes at her younger brother.. "Saber…" She whispered.

Nakao smirked. "Indeed…" And then he ran for Orochimaru, who simply said. "Katon, Kasai Denkou!" A huge Fire landed on the running form of Nakao and lightning bolts could be seen as they flashed through the fire. Serra folder her arms and observed.

Orochimaru somersaulted away from a hand that came from under the ground, ready to grab Orochimaru. Nakao quickly jumped up through the sand and stared Orochimaru down and also kept an eye on Sasuke, who had deactivated his Curse Seal to watch. Sasuke was hesitating in helping Orochimaru or attacking the other Takabashi.

Orochimaru suddenly made a sort of Chakra scalpel form in his hands, but was very surprised to see Nakao do the same thing. Sasuke activated his Sharingan to see what their functions were. Orochimaru's was a 'Enjintou no Chakra', which could affect even the Inner Coils System. Nakao's Chakra blade was simply a helpful item that would fit with his attacks, or so Sasuke figured. 

"Oy, Saber… I don't want us to waste too much time on this. I'll attack the Sharingan user…" Serra stated as she stared at Sasuke with a grin.

Sasuke braced himself and immediately activated his Curse Seal. 'Bring it on, woman…'

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Naruto stared the ANBU member down with his blue eyes. He sniffed once. "You and your dog smell…" He had already noticed this was a female Inuzuka. 

"Uzumaki Naruto, right?" The female asked. "We have been ordered to take you and Hyuga Neji back to our Village. Now that we have found you, we intend to fulfil our mission..."

Naruto snorted and folded his arms. "You'll have to force us…"

The ANBU nodded. "So be it.." Her wolf suddenly charged forwards and attacked Naruto in full rage. Naruto smiled as he stuck four Kunais in the wolf's throat. He was slightly surprised to see the Wolf pull off a Kawarimi… "That's… unexpected.." 

The ANBU rushed forward and Kunai met Kunai… Naruto grinned as he stared at the ANBU's mask. "Let's see how long you can play with me…" He said, before he suddenly exploded, sending the ANBU many feet backwards. 

"Kyoubou Bakuhatsu…" Another Naruto said as he appeared and threw several Shurikens towards the still flailing ANBU. The female managed to twist in the air, dodged the coming Shurikens and landed on the ground. She continued with a set of seals. Her clothes were already shredded because of the explosion from before. "You're good… I will use the Inuzuka's special technique to wear you down…"

Naruto grinned. "Let me see…"

A few meters ahead, Gaara was eying his two opponents as they prepared themselves. Of course they had information about him and probably knew a bit of how Gaara fought. These were Konoha ANBUs after all… But all of that simply made it more fun for Gaara. So he wasn't surprised when they easily broke through his Shield of Sand and even broke through his Barrier of Sand by simply use of speed and Chakra manipulation. But Gaara had learned not to depend on his defence too much and had new tricks up his sleeves… It was a real surprise for the two ANBU as they were both suddenly enveloped by a great darkness. Or rather, Gaara put himself and the two ANBU inside a small Sphere of Sand.

"Tell me…" Gaara whispered dangerously as both ANBU couldn't see a thing. The voice came from everywhere and it felt as if the entire Sphere was spinning. "Are you afraid?"

One ANBU snorted and performed a few hand seals, placed his hand on the ground and created small fire… only to reveal Gaara wasn't inside at all… Chuckled filled the Sphere and suddenly Gaara's face popped out of one side of the Sphere. "This entire Sphere is controlled by me… See it as an absolute defence… from the inside.." He ended with a chuckle… 

Both ANBUs quickly moved to the side as a hardened sand spike was about to impale both of them. "These spikes will continue to attack you, you will have no time to think about how to escape as they keep coming…. Problem is… now there's only one spike… how long can you manage to survive when with every.. err… let's see… half minute another spike joins the… party…" This attack was clearly a combination of Suna Kyuutai and Suna Shuurajou. Sphere of Sand and Sand Carnage.

Both ANBUs swallowed nervously as again a spike came from the 'ceiling' from the Sphere and attacked them. Gaara simply chuckled as the ANBUs jumped, ran and evaded for their lives.

Elsewhere, Neji was grinning and satisfied to have finally found a challenge. "Aburame Shino… Finally, we can have our rematch… I am pleased to see you have become an ANBU Leader.. You must be quite skilled. Can you defeat me?"

Shino stared at Neji from behind his mask. "Since you have rejected our offer to come back with us to Konoha peacefully.. I will have to try and force you."

Neji grinned even more, if that were possible. "Come then…"

Shino performed seal after seal and Neji simply activated his Byakugan. 'Ah, I recognize the technique… the next technique however.. he has.. rearranged his Chakra…' Neji was tempted to activate the Senshin-Byakugan but decided against it. 'I see.. Chakra as extra power, I never thought a guy like Shino would choose this..' Neji smiled. "So you want to fight with power instead of cleverness?"

Shino didn't respond and did another seal which caused Chakra to surround his hands and even his feet... 

Neji narrowed his eyes. "Poison and power? You're good with your Chakra, to be able to give it two functions…"

Shino rushed forward and started with a simple jab to Neji's face which was accompanied by a sneaky kick aimed at Neji's ankles. Neji easily dodged as he could read Shino's movements. He jumped up and looked down on Neji as he performed a seal. "Baisuu Chakra Hiketsu!"

Shino saw the three Chakra clouds come down from Neji's palms and didn't know of the attack but dodged just to be sure. Shino noted that as the so-called Chakra-clouds made their impact on the ground, the expanded and lingered there for a while. Shino had no idea what it meant, but made sure not to come close to the lingering mist…

Neji landed behind Shino and yelled "Chakra Chuubu!" Only to see this Shino quickly divided in two Shinos and the fake Shino got hit by Neji's attack. Neji quickly annihilated Shino's Clone and wanted to continue his assault, but saw that Shino had finished a seal. "Doku Chakra Senbon!"

Neji gritted his teeth and jumped upwards and started performing a long set of hand seals. 'He's become good… Those were poisonous needles made out of Chakra…' Neji finished his hand seals. "Karm no Jutsu!!"

Shino watched as Neji sent an attack which had Fire, Water, Ice and Electricity in it(Katon, Aisu, Raiden, Mizu…) head right for him. Shino quickly jumped up a tree and watched as the attack was about to hit the ground where he just stood. But before the attack actually hit the ground, Neji had performed another hand seal and yelled. "Bunretsu!"

Shino frowned as all elements divided into four attacks that danced towards the sky all of a sudden. Neji continued. "Seikaku!!"

Shino cursed inwardly as all four attacks were heading for him again…

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TBC

A/N: Thanks for the many reviews! In the next Chapter, the Capture the Flag-saga is over… Oh, and I also updated the Jutsu List, for if you don't understand some of the new Jutsus in this Chapter.


	9. Making Progress

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its characters and its techniques. 

Author's Note: Well, far here on I'm going to experiment a little, I'm going to take a view point of views from certain characters and write from there. I'll let MOSTLY you read through Naruto's, Sasuke's, Sakura's, Kakashi's and Lee's eyes… Oh, and you can find the Special Technique of the Inuzuka Clan in Chapter 203 of the Manga, since I'm using it in here. Sorry for the late update, but I had exams and so I had to study…

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Review Reply Corner:

**Cookie6**: Thanks for the review! Here's a little more… Just a little…

**Curlsofserenity**: Yep, yep, many more reunions coming up! I'm glad you like it! Here's some more!

**Loon** **Luu**: Thanks for liking the battles!! Sorry for the late update, time is difficult to find these days…

**The**-**TempesT**: Heh, you'll have to find out who's more powerful than who, otherwise it wouldn't be a surprise. ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!

**RuByMoOn17**: :O!! You really like how I write?! Thanks so much!!

**Misu** **no** **Hikaru**: Thanks for the review and thanks for… loving it! I'm glad I can entertain you.

**Pyr00tje**: Well, I've chosen for a different approach of battle description in this chapter, hope you still like it!

**SilverKnight7**: Many thanks for loving my story!! I hope you like this chapter!

**Alden-san**: Hehehe, man, from only just this review I got a whole new subplot figured out, thanks! I never wanted to involve Iruka too much, but now I do! Thanks for the review!! And about Ino and Ten-Ten, don't worry! ^_^

**Dark** **Nemesis** **7**: Thanks!! I'm trying to keep it up! I hope you like it!

**EvilP**: I'm sorry to hear(read) that. I had to rush a bit too certain things, otherwise it would have been even more confusing, but if I wanted it less confusing, it would have been like three chapters instead of one. Oh well, my apologies that you don't like it anymore. I thank you for having followed the story for this long and feel bad that I have lost a reader. Oh well! ^_^ my apologies nonetheless…

**Ino** **Pig**: Yeah yeah! Reunions galore!! I really hope you enjoy this Chappie too, Ino Pig!

**Hattuteline**: Yes, yes, you are very very right about that. My sincerest apologies… I've corrected them now. I was wondering.. could you perhaps send me a good description about the Takabashi Clan of TaiJutsu? You are so much better at explaining than I am. (I suck at it, actually…)

**:D**: Oh, their ages? The Genins are about 17, Neji, Lee and Ten-Ten are 18.. Well, actually, everyone has become, say, five years older. And yes, it's stated in Chapter 1, but that's no big deal…

**Sirus183**: Many Thanks for the review!! Here's the next chapter!

**Anubis****-sama**: Thanks for the hint. I'll try to exclude new OCs, but there's one more coming up… My apologies…

**EfrainMan**: Actually, I agree with you. And I can imagine many others doing that as well. Fights between OCs shouldn't even exist in stories like this, but it was somehow necessarily here, sorry!

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**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 9

Secret technique is what he said, he heard it right. It would be interesting to see what this clan's full potential was, surely with the nose the clan owns they should know she was only fighting with a clone now.. Surely.. this ANBU wouldn't use their oh-so-special technique of theirs on his clone? No, he was sure she knew. Now to wait off as the Inuzuka ANBU prepared herself. 

Naruto licked his bottom lip as he watched from afar how the Inuzuka was facing his Kyoubou Clone. Just to be sure, Naruto created two more Kyoubou Clones beside him, in his hiding spot, to shield him from the attack when necessarily. Naruto frowned and made a new set of Shadow Clones and made all of them go under ground. After that, he created one Taiyuu Bunshin and gave him the command to shoot off a Rasengan if he saw an opening in the female. 

Naruto watched how the Inuzuka female made hand seals and heard how she mentioned this was a Jutsu only for the Inuzuka Clan. 

"Soutourou!"

Naruto frowned as he saw the female and the wolf both transform in humongous wolfs… Naruto smiled and got a bit excited. 'Wow… that's a nice technique he has there… Too bad it's a bloodline technique… But then again, I can easily counter it with one of my summons…'

Naruto frowned as his Kyoubou Clone could do nothing but run from the vicious attacks from the two big wolfs. Eventually, the Kyoubou Clone got ripped apart by the claws. Naruto wasn't surprised to see the two wolfs turn their heads to himself. He wasn't surprised either when he saw his set of Shadow Clones come out of the ground beneath the two wolves and saw how their attacks missed and the wolves easily stumped or slashed them away. 

Naruto quickly sent both of his Kyoubou Clones that were standing next to him run for the wolves. As the wolves watched how Naruto's Kyoubou Clones were advancing on them in high speed, both suddenly jumped up, avoiding the Rasengan that came from Naruto's advanced clone. One wolf jumped over the Rasengan towards the advanced Clone and trampled it. The other Clone was receiving assault from the two Kyoubou Clones, but that battle was shortlived as the wolf tried to eat the smaller Kyuubi Clones. 

The real Naruto bit his finger and touched one of the black marks that was now on his arm. After that, he put his hand on the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Come forth, Itsu!!" And before him stood a giant fox, bigger than both wolves… It was a normal fox, with just one tail and Naruto was standing on its head. He narrowed his eyes at the wolves. "So, you're next…"

One of the wolves jumped over the fox and started… peeing… much to Naruto's dismay. "What… the… HELL?!" The female fox merely snarled. "Ey, Naruto… What'd you bring me here for? To get pissed on? This really pisses me off…" Naruto nodded his agreement. "Let's rip those puppies apart then… They're from the Leaf Village…"

The fox called Itsu and Naruto watched as one wolf stood behind them and the other in front of them. 

"Garouga!!"

The Fox jumped out of the way but saw that the two dangerous whirlwinds that were the wolves were still following him. "Naruto, hold on…" The Fox increased its speed a great deal and leaped away. 

Naruto frowned at the attack. 'How odd… This special technique of the Inuzuka Clan is very similar to the Piercing Fan that Kiba once used on me.'

Both wolves stopped their pursuit and stood on the ground watching the fox in the distance. 

"Naruto… These two wolves… do you want me to kill them? They are rather weak… I don't understand why you called for me." Itsu said as she stared at the two wolves. Naruto grinned. 

"Well, I just wanted to show off really…" Naruto said, scratching the back of his head, while Itsu sighed.

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Sasuke was frustrated, no, more than frustrated. The two could have easily killed them. He stood a chance against them together with Orochimaru, but he was ashamed to admit he played too much. Now, they simply bashed him away and went running for Orochimaru, but not FOR Orochimaru, but for the Scroll Orochimaru had. They stole it and ran away. At that time, Sasuke was too excited because he was in his Curse Seal Level 2 State for too long. Orochimaru still could've run after them but he would be the only one then. 

So now, they had lost the Hidden Sound Scroll and now the Takabashis were probably already stealing the Hidden Scroll from the Lightning Village, while he was panting. Sasuke rose to his feet with a lot of difficulty and groaned while he cursed inwardly for his weakness. He slowly walked over to the big hole Nakao left behind after attacking Kimimaro and watched the unconscious bodies of Teri and Hatsu. 

"Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru said in a tired voice. "This is not good… not good at all. The Akatsuki now has MY scroll as well. All is moving in their favour. Those two were extremely good, but now we know how they fight and the next time we meet them.."

Sasuke smiled. "Yes, then we will be able to beat them." He neared Kimimaro's body in the big crate and watched, looking if he still breathed. "Orochimaru… I think.." He swallowed for a moment and waited for Orochimaru to walk up next to him. 

Orochimaru sighed. "Yes… Kimimaro is dead… He should have activated his Curse Seal to level two. He underestimated these two and has paid for it." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "This is bad…" He turned to watch at Hatsu and Teri. "Those two are weak compared to us, it seems… They didn't last very long against the girl."

Sasuke nodded. 'How stupid... We were defeated by two people… TWO, only two…' Sasuke gritted his teeth soundlessly. 'Next time I will kill them for humiliating me!'

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The battle was short-lived, Naruto noted. He had killed the two wolves easily. While his summon Itsu was keeping them busy, he had created two Rasengans which were packed with a lot of Chakra. With speed unlike any before, he hopped on one wolf's head and released one Rasengan aimed at the brains. In the same speed he hopped to the other wolf, which was perplexed by the speed and the Rasengan. Naruto did exactly the same and made the wolf's head… explode..

He sighed as Itsu left with a gigantic puff of smoke but smiled as he heard the muffled screams of the two ANBU inside Gaara's Sphere of Sand. Naruto knew from the screams that the two were not killed yet, but that Gaara was still toying with them by tormenting them with his Suna Shuurajou inside the Suna no Kyuutai. He smiled as Neji and the Aburame ANBU were still shooting attacks at each other. Neji had not yet activated his Senshin-Byakugan, which wasn't really a surprise to Naruto, since he knew Neji wanted to have some fun. Naruto knocked himself in the forehead and sighed. 'Man, I should have played longer with my opponent too… Now I have to wait for them to finish, and watch them have fun… Now I'm jealous again…' Naruto thought as he remembered previous missions in which Gaara and Neji also had longer fights than him…

He smiled in genuine happiness as he saw Neji activate the Senshin-Byakugan. 'Finally!! That Aburame won't last long now…' Naruto chuckled even more as the Sphere of Sand dissolved and saw the two bodies of the ANBU… in pieces… Naruto sighed, Gaara always has to make things so bloody… Gaara nodded towards Naruto and also tuned in on the battle Neji was in.

Both Naruto and Gaara were quite surprised at how the Aburame ANBU held his own against Neji's attacks, even with the Senshin-Byakugan and that was really hard… The battle did not take very long though, as Neji used his Heavenly Spin in combination with three Taiyuu Bunshins and Chakra Chuubu. Shino simply lost all his Chakra and was on the brink of fainting. Naruto and Gaara both frowned as Neji began to speak up. 

"Report back to Leaf… Tell them the Akatsuki is on the move. Stop your hunt on us and help stop the Akatsuki. If you don't, you'll bring your own death only closer to your existence…" Neji looked at the Aburame harshly. "Only you survive of your precious team… Be thankful."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "What the Hell!? Oy, Neji! Kill that freaking bug freak! He doesn't deserve to live! Rip his head off!!"

Gaara nodded. "Yes… We still need dinner for tonight… Now we only have three bodies… That's not enough.."

Neji shook his head. "No, the Leaf need to be warned of the situation… Besides… this one might prove useful in the future…" Neji said as he harshly kicked Shino in the face, also breaking the mask. Shino flew a few meters and landed several feet away from Naruto and Gaara.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Aburame Shino…" He narrowed his eyes. "Why would he be useful!? You defeated him! Gaara and me will easily defeat him as well! How can a weakling like him be useful?"

Neji walked towards Naruto and Gaara. "No, he's not that weak… We are just exceptionally strong, Naruto… For the Leaf, he's probably a strong asset. It's strange that someone could last even that long against me with my Senshin-Byakugan activated, while he has never even seen the Senshin-Byakugan… It clearly indicates that Shino can improvise perfectly in battle… "

Naruto snorted. "When you fought me and Gaara with your Senshin-Byakugan for the first time"

Neji interrupted. "True… but you two are exceptions…" Neji sighed. "Just let this one live, ok? He'll be useful…"

Gaara suddenly interjected. "This Village and these ANBU were a total waste of time. We need to report back tomorrow, as promised. The others will probably already have succeeded."

Neji and Naruto nodded. "Yeah, let's head back." They leaped away, with Naruto casting one last look on the almost unconscious form of Aburame Shino…

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After gathering information with the Council of the Grass, Anko told Hinata and her team to head for other Villages, to see if they have been attacked as well. Their next stop would be Mist Village. It was really strange for Sakura as she recognized the many familiar things of the Country. Once they had to cross the Great Naruto Bridge… it was more than odd, it was even more than sad.

It completely made Sakura think about Naruto and the time they had their first real mission here. She was eager to tell her team mates about it. Their reactions were subdued of course.

Anko never knew the boy that well, but knew that the boy was the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon. She had heard the many stories about the kid and could venture guess about how strong the man would be about now. But she also knew he was captured by the legendary Uchiha Itachi, a man who was even more powerful than Orochimaru. Itachi probably had Naruto for the same reason Orochimaru had her. There was no doubt Naruto was still alive… and was unbelievably dangerous…

Hinata smiled as Sakura told the story about their adventure here. 'Naruto was here…' She had always admired the boy and had always wondered why a legend like Uchiha Itachi would kidnap an innocent boy like Naruto. She never found the reason and it was frustrating that no one ever told her. Even when it was very clear certain people knew. She could read expressions really well, being from the Hyuga. Her feelings for the blonde boy never left her. She would do anything to see Naruto again. To see how he had changed, how powerful he has become, how he looked now… But now they had this mission… Confront the Akatsuki. There was even a possibility Naruto was with the Akatsuki now, but Hinata would not believe that. Naruto was way too strong-willed to be manipulated by ANYONE. Not even Uchiha Itachi would be able to.

Ino smiled in support for Sakura. She knew how hard it was for Sakura to have lost both team mates in one day. Naruto had grown from dead-last to someone who was able to beat the older and much more powerful Hyuga Neji. Naruto was so unpredictable. In the second Chuunin Exam he had shown everyone that he could even beat Gaara. Gaara who had beaten Neji and Neji, who had beaten Sasuke, the one who was supposed to be the strongest… No one knew… Naruto was the strongest… Everyone thought he was the weakest… 

"It turned out Naruto was the one who had beaten the powerful missing-nin Haku. He was also the one who turned an extremely depressive boy into a genuinely happy one. He changed this entire Village… He can do those things… He..was really capable… of doing amazing things…" Sakura stated sadly.

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Surprising, it was. They were to tell their students to train for the coming weeks. And now they were on a mission with their previous Jounin instructors. It was really amazing to be on a mission with Gai again. This mission would be dangerous, the Hokage warned. He did not even know where they were heading. Beside him, Shikamaru, Kakashi, Ten-Ten and Asuma were jumping. Gai was in the lead. 

"Uhh, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked. He always added the –sensei, because the respect for Gai would never cease. "Where are we headed?" 

Gai didn't turn his head. "We are headed for the biggest Village… You've never been there, it's the biggest non-Shinobi Village, but it's also the biggest Village of all Villages. Within in that Village, lies a Secret Hidden Scroll, we are to capture it…"

Lee nodded. "Roger!"

'This will affect everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if we would encounter Orochimaru or Itachi when we get there. Surely they know of the Akatsuki's plans?' Kakashi thought. 'Naruto… Sasuke… Are you two still alive?'

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Itachi and Dareda still weren't here. Sinobi, Mokito and Kisame had told them they completely failed in their mission and came back empty-handed, earning frowns from Neji, Naruto and Gaara. Naruto held both Scrolls of the Leaf and the Stone Village, or from the Fire and the Earth Country. They had failed to capture the Hidden Scroll of the Mist. They wondered if Itachi and Dareda had succeeded. 

They all turned towards the same direction at the same time. Itachi and Dareda were coming. In a second, they jumped out of the trees and landed between the little group of six. Dareda smiled. "We only have the Scroll of the Sand Village of the Wind Country. What about you?"

Mokito scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "Well, the Akatsuki interrupted and we got none… We DID have both Scrolls… but they kinda beat us to a pulp…"

Dareda frowned and Itachi simply stared for a second, before turning to Naruto, Gaara and Neji. "We've got one as well. From the Stone Village, Earth Country. The Mist Village had already been attacked when we got there…" 

"Hmm… We split up now… All of us… Try and track down Akatsuki members and kill them if possible. Don't attack immediately unless you know you will win. Collect Scrolls if possible. All Villages are probably already attacked by now, so it's no use searching there. Naruto, you will hold the Scrolls with you."

"What if one of us dies?" Neji asked. 

Itachi stared at him. "Then it's a pity.."

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Tsunade was sleeping on her desk as Shino knocked on the door. Politeness was really a big part of the character that is Aburame Shino. His fight with Neji had not hurt him that much physically but it had literally forced him to tire out. So much like his first battle with the Hyuga. But this time, Neji was too much even for him. In the years, Shino had become a force to be reckoned with. Becoming an ANBU Leader told people enough. 

Shino sighed and knocked the door again. He was also knows for his patience… Even though he could hear the Hokage snore through the door. 

'I've lost my entire team… They all have grown so much. The Special Inuzuka Technique didn't even come near Naruto. My advanced Aburame-style technique was easily defeated by Neji and Gaara had ruthlessly and easily ripped the others apart. The three of them are too dangerous… But they are were only with three… This means they have chosen to abandon Leaf Village with free will. But they are against the Akatsuki…' Shino thought, remembering what Neji said. 'The Akatsuki has a plan and apparently it is up to me to report this to the Hokage.' Shino sighed as he knocked for the fifth time. 'Naruto, Gaara and Neji… What could have changed them so? Well… not Gaara… I guess..'

Finally, after the seventh (harder, a lot harder) knock on the door, Tsunade opened the door and greeted Shino with a loud yawn. "Shino! What news do you bring?" Tsunade asked as she allowed Shino to enter her office.

Shino stepped inside. "Failure is what I bring you. My… subordinates have all been killed by Uzumaki Naruto and Gaara and I managed to survive my quarrel with Hyuga Neji."

Tsunade's eyes widened.

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It was truly a pain… Hyuga Neji did not have time to deal with this… It was night, and they were all sleeping, except for one who was guarding. He was a good distance away from them and was observing them with his Byakugan. This was the second time he encountered Ten-Ten and Nara Shikamaru. But now Lee, Kakashi, Asuma and Gai were with them. 

'They probably have been given the mission to protect a Village and are headed for it. They are with many I can not let them see me… Lee is holding guard, so I have to go a big way around their little camp. There is no doubt that that idiot has become stronger. I'm somewhat… glad… that he has recovered. But there's no way he's anywhere near my power… If he were alone, I would have probably taken him on too… But they are with too many, even for me.'

Neji's gaze softened as he watched the sleeping form of Ten-Ten.

'Maybe… I could stay a little bit longer…'

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'How annoying…' Gaara was heading for the Stone Village, or somewhere near there. Maybe the Akatsuki was there now, who knows? But he noticed a pack of Chuunins from the Leaf heading back. He recognised a few as they were in both Chuunin Exams he had participated. The girl 'Sakura was it?' gave him a real migraine. Then there was Neji's 'precious' niece, or something like that, he forgot her name already and he recognized the older female to be the one who had guided them in the First Chuunin Exam. The fat boy and the other two were familiar as well, he just didn't know their names. Only Sakura's, because she really gave him a big headache… 

'I want to kill them… Perhaps they know of the Akatsuki.. I could.. 'Gather Information..' and kill them afterwards…' Gaara thought with a slight chuckle… 'They are with… six. Five Chuunins and a Jounin. That shouldn't be too hard…'

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Naruto and Gaara had said their goodbyes to each other and each went their own way. Naruto had opted to observe Konoha from a distance. Gaara did not question him on the matter, and even if he would, Naruto would probably shrug it off. Now he was watching Konoha with an annoyed expression.

'It's still so quiet, so peaceful… A village like the Leaf doesn't deserve that… I'm not going to attack it now… But this Village does attract a lot of people, possibly the Akatsuki too… We did take the Scroll before we even knew the Akatsuki was collecting them… So maybe, the Akatsuki will come here, not knowing that the Scroll has already been taken… But I can't be too reckless, I'm carrying the two Scrolls… Akatsuki members are powerful… Maybe I should have taken Neji or Gaara with me…' Naruto thought before he fell asleep a far distance away from Konoha.

The next day, Naruto sniffed the air and watched two Chuunins carrying another Chuunin and a Jounin, while another Chuunin lazily walked behind them. 'Heh, those had a hard battle, it seems…' Naruto's eyes widened after he had narrowed them to see if he knew the people. 'I know all of them! Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Ino, Chouji and… what's her name again? The Examiner, right…'

Naruto sniffed the air again and smelled two people approaching… Quickly he jumped into a tree and observed. 

'Akatsuki, Konoha missing-nin and a Sand Missing-nin… Interesting… The Konoha missing-nin is an Aburame…'

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'That was… surprising…' Gaara thought as he was on his way towards Stone Village. He had just attacked Hinata's Chuunin Team, expecting easy kills, but was surprised that they were prepared and had already formulated a plan. His Sand Bunshins under the ground were easily dealt with and they knew where he was hiding too. 'The Hyuga… She knew with her Byakugan, of course…'

------------------------------------------------------------------Flashback-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When he himself really attacked, he showed them just who Gaara was again. They didn't seem afraid enough for his tastes. He quickly dealt with the fat boy by dumping a huge load of sand on him and threw him away. The two girls, Sakura and the blonde one were even easier as he simply used dozens of Sand Shurikens to knock them away. The Jounin appeared behind him however and managed to get past both the Shield and the Barrier, but Gaara had then grabbed her neck and thrown her into the attacking Kiba. He used sand to try and choke the dog, but got interrupted by the Hyuga girl as she began that famous 64 Opening Points Attack. Even when Neji used that it wasn't strong enough to get past he Barrier. So he quickly washed the Hyuga away with Sand. 

Gaara frowned as they all rose from the ground and faced him. He saw the fat guy hollering back towards them as well. 'Vermin… Time to extinguish…'

Gaara looked curiously as the Team got into formation, while the Jounin also observed. 'Ah, this is a real team then…' Gaara smiled. "Show me…"

First, the Fat Guy became even fatter, he noted, and blocked his view from seeing the others. Gaara frowned as the fat guy just didn't stop expanding. 'That's big…' Gaara shrugged as he made sand cover parts of the now humongous body of Chouji. "Suna Bakuhatsu."

And Chouji felt the full attack from the Sand Explosion and reeled backwards, revealing Hinata with a… Senshin-Byakugan activated… Gaara frowned. 'She has an advanced Byakugan… That's impressive… I remember her to be very weak…' Gaara saw how the dog boy and the… dog… were itching to finish some sort of hand seal. Sakura was grinning like a foolish girl and the blonde girl was also smiling. 'How stupid…'

The boy with the dog suddenly charged at him and yelled. "Soutourou!! Garouga!!"

Gaara's eyes slightly widened as the boy changed into a huge dog and the dog also transformed into a huge dog. They began to spin real fast and were advancing on him… 'Suna Kyuutai!! Daisan no Me…'

Kiba and Akamaru bounced backwards as they came in contact with the compact form of Gaara's absolute defence. His Sphere of Sand. They both quickly undid their Jutsu. The technique drained a lot of Chakra. 

"How do we get past that?" Gaara heard Sakura yell. The blonde continued, he saw with his Third Eye. "I'll use my Shintenshin, it can move through that easily!" Gaara grinned, but frowned soon after that, as the Hyuga girl spoke. "No, Gaara isn't in there. He's moving under ground." Gaara cursed inwardly. 'Hmm, they remember my name…'

Gaara suddenly appeared behind Anko and used his Suna Shuurajou as quickly as possible. Anko, with her quick reflexes managed to not get killed, but got severely hurt. Gaara guarded the 64 Opening Points attack with the Barrier of Sand and followed up with several Sabaku Kyuus. The Hyuga girl however, simply negated the Chakra within the attack. So Gaara decided to attack the Hyuga physically, but got interrupted by the fast boy with the dog. 

He smashed Kiba away with a huge fist of sand and tried to choke the dog again. But from above the blonde girl yelled. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!!" Gaara easily jumped backwards, right into a gust of Chakra that the Hyuga had sent towards him. 'Damn!!' Right then and there, Gaara wasn't able to use any attacks, because his Chakra flow got stopped. He gritted his teeth as Sakura punched him… surprisingly hard… in the face. Gaara flew back several meters. 

'Damn… Now that I don't have my gourd anymore, the Shield isn't automatic… a by-effect that came after Shukaku got sealed with the Fourth's Jutsu… At least I've got my Chakra flow back.'

"Enough… I will now kill all of you…" Kiba appeared behind him, but suddenly got enveloped by a huge wave of sand. "Suna Sukasshu…"

"Ack…" Kiba choked in the sand. Akamaru charged forward with a odd Chakra surrounding him. Gaara frowned at the little dog and used "Suna Shuurajou!!"

The dog got hit by one hardened spike, but managed to dodge many others. Akamaru fell a few feet backwards and was bleeding a great deal… Gaara was forced to release his hold on Kiba as Ino used "Shintenshin no Jutsu!!", while Sakura used her "Sakuran no Jutsu!!" Gaara quickly moved under the ground and appeared behind Hinata, who anticipated this and used Chakra Chuubu!! Before Sakura could again punch him, Gaara jumped away. 

'Great teamwork they have… But now there are only three left… the fat guy is too damaged because of my explosion, the Jounin is about to die and the boy with the dog is now unconscious as is the dog… Only girls are left… These three have very annoying skills… Skills that can go 'through' my defences… I don't want to use extra Chakra for these three insects… I would feel ashamed if I have to…'

Slowly, Gaara used Sand to surround all of them. Gaara could see that the Hyuga knew what he was about to do… A huge area around them was now Gaara's sand. Gaara quickly made a few hand seals… 'Suna no Tate, Suna no Yoroi, Suna no Sekisho, Suna no Kyuutai…' Gaara then chuckled. "Die!!" 

"Suna Bakuhatsu!!"

And the entire area exploded…

As the explosion was over, Gaara went on his way…

He took one last glance back and saw that the Hyuga girl had managed to grab all of them and perform the Heavenly Spin combined with the Chakra Chuubu to protect her friends and herself… 

'Remarkable progress the girl has made… but she is out of Chakra now… I could kill them now… but those two girl are still left with their annoying Jutsus… I don't want to risk getting hit by those attacks…' Gaara thought, shrugged and he went on his way towards Stone Village. 'I'll use Shukaku's Chakra next time…'

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Naruto stood face to face with Aburame Turin and Odei Doro. He grinned and accepted the Challenge.

Aburame Turin spoke up. "You have two Hidden Scrolls…" Obviously, this girl knew how to smell as well, Naruto noted.

Doro Odei put a finger under his chin. "Odd, that you managed to get two Scrolls on your own… You must be something, but we are with two and we are Akatsuki. Against us you WILL falter…"

Naruto grinned. "Is that so?"

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TBC

A/N: So, that was Chappy nine! I hope you enjoyed it! Oops, I overdid it a bit (5300 words) … I know there are now a lot of other perspectives too, but I did say MOSTLY. I will MOSTLY focus on Naruto and Sasuke if you wanted to know, but Neji and Gaara are also very important in the story. I hope you don't mind that I gave Hinata a Senshin-Byakugan too, but otherwise she wouldn't have been able to read through Gaara's movements as easy as she did now. And then they all would have been dead. In the next Chapter you will get Sakura's perspective on the battle and see that Hinata barked orders like hell… Gaara merely focused on getting rid of them and ignored Hinata's incessant noise… ^_^ Oh well, Hinata is a true Leader here… Ah, gonna sleep now, G'night!


	10. Old Acquaintances

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

A/N: Well, here's anew chapter!! Please enjoy!! In the next chapters, there will be deaths… And also, in a few chapters ahead, a lot will change… And I can't wait to write it! Oh well… Sometimes I'm getting excited for no particular reason… Please, enjoy!

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Review Reply Corner:

**CurlsofSerenity**: Thanks for the review and thanks for liking it! I simply couldn't resist the puppy-eyes…

**Cookie6**: Well, Neji could get mad, but probably wouldn't. I mean, what happens, happens… But Gaara didn't kill Gaara…

**RuByMoOn17**: yeah… many errors in the previous chapter, I'll correct them when I have time again, right now, my brother is bugging me to get off the computer…

**Misu** **no** **Hikaru**: Whoa, thanks! Than you'll especially like the upcoming chapters… Because, well, Naruto IS the main character in this fic…

**Dark** **Nemesis** **7**: I'll try to… but if I write like this, the chapters also become somewhat smaller… like this one… Although this one's still about 4600 words… I wanted to make them 5000 words a chapter now… but I did what needed to be done in this Chappie.

**Sirus183**: Thanks for the Review! Here's an update!

**EfrainMan**: Ah, thank you so much! I'm glad you still like my chapter!

**Alden-san**: Heh, Hinata will play a big part in this story, as will Sakura. Ino's new Jutsus will come in play soon as well and I'll explain about how she didn't get tired or was out of it for a little while after using the Shintenshin… And yeah, I did made Neji, Naruto and Gaara really strong, huh? Well, I guess… Because they're somehow my favourite Characters… I'm sorry.. -bows- Please forgive me… 

**:D**: No apologies!! And many thanks for the review!! Yeah, Naruto now is somehow similar to Gaara…

**SilverKnight7**: Thanks a bunch! Here's a new chapter!

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**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 10

This was not how he wanted this to be. He knew he had to be careful since he was carrying two scrolls. Itachi kept the Sand Scroll with him. But he just didn't expect these two to be this good. The woman seemed to be impossible to touch. He had sent more than thirty Shadow Clones over towards her, but the woman defeated them without even lifting a finger. He had sent thirty other Shadow Clones towards the guy, who seemed to have more trouble with them.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and performed a few hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!" And he continued with the same seal. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

The woman looked a bit surprised, Naruto noted, while the guy slashed the last Shadow Clone down and also looked a bit dumbfounded at the two medium sized summons. Before Naruto, a bear larger than him stood growling and a lion who was just as big as Naruto roared. The Lion was a lot bigger than a regular Lion. Naruto grinned. 

"Oy, Naruto! Why'd you summon me? Why not my father?" The Lion asked, slightly bored as he gazed at Naruto. The Bear slightly turned to look at Naruto. "Yeah, Naruto, I've got the same question!"

Naruto sighed. "Because… well… I don't think I need your fathers to beat these two…"

The Bear and the Lion both faced Naruto's opponents. "Heh, you smell that? You can't touch that one!" The Lion stated. "It's a poisonous fighter, ey?"

The Bear nodded. "Indeed, she's got bugs all over!"

Naruto turned to Turin. "You're an Aburame?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "Oy, kill them!"

The Bear smashed his right foot hard in the ground, causing the ground to rumble and tear apart around Turin and Doro. The Lion rushed forward, attempting to bite Doro. The Bear meanwhile, grabbed huge boulders, which he formed with his stomping and threw them in high pace at Turin. 

Naruto watched it for a little while. 'I can't risk staying here… I don't want to go berserk to defeat these guys and I don't want to lose the Scrolls either, so I'll have to get away, even if that woman is from Konoha…' Naruto turned to the Bear and the Lion. "Oy, Undo the summon in five minutes, ok?! I'm outta here!"

Both the Bear and the Lion frowned, but nodded nonetheless. They both knew Naruto was not a person who would run away from a fight. 

"You think I'll let you leave just like that?!" Turin shouted as she appeared in front of the running Naruto. 

Naruto simply grinned as he used a technique Gaara taught him. 'Suna Otori…' Turin rushed towards the running Naruto, but was surprised to hear another Naruto hop out of the ground behind her and run. She was about to turn to head for the obvious real Naruto when the real Naruto yelled something. "Kyoubou Bakuhatsu!!"

Turin ran as fast as she could but got hit by the giant explosion anyway. As she fell and coughed up blood from the hard impact, she had to jump up as fast as she could, because the Bear was running for her, his footsteps obviously echoing through the Forest. 'Damn! That guy's pretty good… and he's long gone now…'

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Interesting how he got here. Beginning by being hated by his own entire village resulting in him hating all else. Continuing by actually making friends, who didn't hate him and who he didn't hate. And after that, being trained by the most powerful Shinobis ever recorded… Only to surpass them… He planned on ending it with extracting revenge upon the Village he once called home. But all this annoying… stuff, as Naruto would put it, started showing up. 

The Stone Village was still in turmoil from their attack, he noticed. He sighed and turned away from the Village, to find somewhere he could live for a little while. A non-Shinobi Village would be perfect, since they wouldn't have gatekeepers checking your identity for starters. And he did have a small encounter with a few Leaf Shinobis, so they knew he was still alive, since they did know his name. 

'How stupid… Maybe I should just head back to the Wind Country… and 'protect' it from the Akatsuki…'

Gaara had grown more powerful than he would ever imagine he could be. The Fourth's Seal was a magnificent technique, he had to admit. After Itachi had looked through the Hidden Scroll of the Leaf with Dareda, they had found a way for Naruto and him to confront their demons inside of them. He was surprised to hear that Naruto had already faced his demon before. Somehow… Gaara felt a strange emotion… Perhaps it was fear, but he quickly diminished that thought. Fear was not for beings like himself. 

Itachi had explained them that if they would be able to defeat their demons inside them, their Chakra would become completely yours… And Gaara was quite 'thirsty' for Shukaku's Chakra. He had looked at Naruto at that time and knew he felt the exact same way. Itachi then explained that it would be quite impossible to defeat Shukaku or Kyuubi… but that he himself and Naruto had to major advantage. Kyuubi and Shukaku were both trapped in a cage inside of Naruto and himself. 

So one day, Naruto and Gaara were put through the complicated hand seals of the combination of Genjutsu, Ninjutsu and Kinjutsu. They went inside of themselves and faced their own demons. Sadly to say, even with their demons unable to move in their cages, their Chakra alone was enough to defeat him and Naruto. Gaara and Naruto didn't stand a chance that day…

Gaara wondered how he would fare against the Shukaku today? 

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It was raining a little bit as Neji walked through the streets of a Village that knew of no Shinobis. It was already night and most people were already asleep. All he wanted was to find a place to sleep for the night so he could go on his way again the next day. He would love getting to sleep in a real bed again. These last years were harsh, unforgiving but also a lesson he would never forget. 

He had become more powerful that he had ever wished for, but his dream to become stronger than Naruto were forgotten as he deemed that to be close to impossible every time he sparred with Naruto… or for that matter Gaara. He had to succumb to the fact that Naruto and Gaara were destined; it was their fate, to be stronger than him. But that didn't mean he could always try to be an equal among them. 

He had surpassed the master of the Senshin-Byakugan, Hyuga Dareda, and developed skills of his own. He gave genius a whole new definition. It would be really hard to even get Neji tired now. Together with Dareda he had practised to resist the Curse Seal on his forehead. While Dareda activated the Curse Seal on his forehead only slightly, Neji already fell to his knees when they had first started on training it. But as time passed, Neji used Chakra to negate the Curse Seal's effect. It was hard and it took a lot of Chakra. Every day, Dareda would increase the effect of the Curse Seal on Neji's head and Neji was forced to use up his Chakra every day. One day, it seemed Dareda had activated the Curse Seal to its fullest and Neji had almost fainted right then and there. It used up almost all of his Chakra and he knew at that time he couldn't even perform one single Kaiten after that. So he trained his Chakra Stamina and Amount…

Even if he could negate the Curse Seal, it took up a lot of Chakra… He just hoped he wouldn't encounter a Hyuga of the Main Family…

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They had decided to split up in teams of two. He and Orochimaru were on the move towards… anywhere… and Hatsu and Teri were together also going somewhere. To be quite frank, it didn't really interest Sasuke. All he cared about was getting those two fighters back, getting Itachi back… but what after that? Would he be a changed man? Would Orochimaru say something to him, something that would be able to pique his interest so he could continue on with a new goal? Would he turn back home? Rebuild his Village and start a whole new Uchiha Family?

He just didn't know and he didn't really thought about that too much. He didn't even know if he was strong enough to face Itachi. Sure, he had mastered the Sharingan and could use the Mange Sharingan twice a day now. And yeah, he could stay in his Curse Seal Level Two for pretty long. But was that enough? Surely Itachi had improved as well. And he couldn't forget that he actually did capture Naruto… the rival who had surpassed him all those years ago. There was no way that idiot could be stronger than him now… He couldn't forget the fact that he was defeated by Neji in the last Chuunin Exam. Itachi also had captured him and that monster, Gaara. 

Gaara, who was so like him, or so he stated. He had no doubt Naruto was still alive and so was Gaara and Neji. Why did Itachi capture them? To kill them? To have them as a tool like Zabuza had Haku? No tool would be strong enough to stand in his way. If Naruto or whoever stood in his way between him and Itachi, he would rip them apart. 

Itachi was his and he would put a major Chidori through his chest…

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This was just too much… First Uchiha Sasuke makes an appearance right as the Akatsuki makes their move… After that, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Neji and Gaara had almost killed her best ANBU Squad. Only Aburame Shino was alive. And now Gaara was walking around Konoha, attacking her best Chuunin Team, while Mitarashi Anko was about to lose her life. She had managed to save Anko with her medical skills and had brought back Kiba and Akamaru to consciousness. She saw the state the others were in and shook her head. Chouji was barely staying on his feet and had apparently just awoken from being knocked out. 

"So, you have encountered Gaara… He attacked you… But he didn't say why?" Tsunade summed up as she stared at Hinata, Sakura and Ino

Hinata shook her head. "No, after he made the entire area explode, he left us. Form what I know, he could have easily attacked again. He had an enormous amount of Chakra left."

Tsunade eyed them carefully. "Heh, it's strange… This week all of our missing-nins have made appearances… Uchiha Itachi was among the ones who took our Hidden Scroll… Then you encounter Uchiha Sasuke. My best ANBU Squad was killed, except for Shino by Gaara…" Tsunade carefully looked at Hinata… "Hyuga Neji…" And then she carefully looked at Sakura. "And your old team mate… Uzumaki Naruto…"

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"Hmmm… This is very odd…" Kakashi said as he observed the situation with one eye. The others nodded their agreement. Before them, a huge Village was… down with the ground… Almost horizontal… No Buildings were standing, all were crumbled. Kakashi revealed his Sharingan and it immediately widened. 'This is bad… What kind of Chakra is that? From the looks of it, whoever did this is long gone, but the Chakra still lingers here…' Kakashi observed everything more closely. 'Mushrooms?'

"Kakashi, what do you see?" Gai asked as he stepped up next to him. 

"We have to get out of here as fast as possible… There's a Chakra here that drains our Chakra… this entire area is like a sponge… Whoever did this is very dangerous…"

Gai's eyes widened. "So this means the Scroll is…?"

Kakashi nodded and jumped for the others as Gai followed him. "Yes, the Scroll has probably already been taken… I had no idea someone could do something like this with their Chakra… The Akatsuki is truly powerful… We'll head back to the Leaf…"

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"Naruto?" Sakura asked. 'Oh my god… They're both still alive… But… did Naruto kill the ANBU Team?'

Hinata's eyes widened a great deal. 'Neji-nii-san… Naruto-kun…'

Ino's eyes were also widened, though not as much as the others… Kiba and Chouji simply stood there. "So, they're still alive… But seeing as your best ANBU Squad got defeated by them… it means they have grown stronger… a lot stronger…" Kiba stated as Chouji grabbed a bag of chips.

Tsunade nodded. "Yes… Shino's Team was my best team and their teamwork was a levels above even your teamwork, while your teamwork is really good… They must've fought them individually. From what Shino told me, they defeated them very easily."

Hinata's head shot up, but she kept silent and stared at Tsunade. 'They defeated our best ANBU Squad easily? We encountered Gaara and he could've killed us, including Anko… and he was still holding back so much Chakra… Together with Neji-nii-san and Naruto-kun they're even more powerful… How… Why are they doing this? They actually killed them?'

Sakura was deep in thought about all of this, even when Tsunade was still informing them a bit of the situation. 'Naruto and Sasuke… Both have changed so much then… They've probably killed so many already… Sasuke, he has changed so much… When we encountered him… he was so… dark… Is Naruto the same?'

"-So until Kakashi and the others are back, nobody will have a mission here…" Tsunade finished.

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Rushing forward… Just rushing forward, with no end in sight. He was moving so fast, that is was actually draining his Chakra a little too fast… But he didn't care… He had so much of it anyway. Uzumaki Naruto was probably the person who had the most Chakra of all Shinobis… And that is excluding Kyuubi's… Right now he was just running as fast as his legs could. He would simply head east, until he would come to the sea, after that, he would head north and so on and so on... 'Or…' Naruto stopped his running and folded his arms. 'I could use my nose and go on a hunt…' 

Naruto checked his surroundings and sighed. 'Where I am now it wouldn't make a difference… I don't know where the heck I am…' Naruto sniffed once. 'See? Not a scent of blood anywhere… This is no fun…'

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Hyuga Neji was really agitated as he ran. 'Did that idiot suddenly get a Byakugan?! He's heading straight for me!! And I was really going around them! But he's still foolish… He let the others sleep and went to confront me alone. I wonder how much he's grown… I can't wait to see his face when he sees it's me… his eternal rival…' Neji observed the approaching Lee with his Byakugan and shook his head. 'Hot-blooded fool…'

Five minutes later, Neji saw that Lee was about to jump in front of him. And as expected, Lee jumped out of a tree and landed on the ground before him.

Lee had his eyes closed and slowly opened them. "What is making you move so fast through this forest? You must be a Shinobi to move so fast and…" Lee stopped talking as he observed Neji a little better… "You… Who are you?"

Neji smiled. "Heh, you don't remember me, Lee?"

Lee's eyes narrowed a little bit. "I admit you look familiar… You know my name, so I have to know you too…"

Neji rolled his eyes. "Your logic has always been screwed up… It's me, Hyuga Neji…"

And time momentarily stopped for Rock Lee… His eternal rival stood right before him… He has changed so much, while Lee still carried the same clothes, only the way his hair looked was different. Neji's hair was still somewhat the same, but he carried it completely loose. His face looked way more mature and his clothes… A dark blue cloak. Lee swallowed nervously and he wasn't sure if he was ready to face a genius from the Hyuga Clan. But this was a major challenge for his and he was excited and afraid at the same time. But he couldn't just fight with him, he was a missing-nin, but also… somehow… a friend…

"Neji… It's been so long… "

Neji closed his eyes and smiled. "I have no time to 'catch up' on old times, Lee. And I do not wish to fight either, it would simply be a waste of time. Just go back to your… team. I have a mission.." 

Lee's features hardened a bit. "No. As a Shinobi from Konoha, I can not let you go. Who do you work for?"

Neji frowned. "Listen, Lee. I don't have time for this. Don't make me kill you…"

Lee's eyes changed from serious to confused. "Kill me? Would you go that far, Neji?"

Neji chuckled. "Of course. You must too, you know…" Neji said. "As a Konoha Shinobi…" He ended mockingly.

Lee swallowed. "I am sorry, but this forces me to fight you… I have grown a lot, Neji, I am a Jounin now. I will prove to you that hard work surpasses a genius… in the end…"

Neji chuckled. "I'll tell you what… I'll fight you for three minutes… without the Byakugan… But after that, the fight will be over for you…"

Lee's eyes widened.

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It felt so strange… just being here… This was the Village that had scarred him for life. This was the Village that would be his final target. He was exactly the same as Naruto, being feared and hated by the villagers at the same time. But now, it didn't feel strange because he saw his old Village, it was strange… because Itachi and Dareda sure left a mess when they got the Scroll here… and it was strange, because his siblings… were standing meters in front of him, but they couldn't see him. But it was already too late, they had already sensed him. His old teacher, Baki was with them. 

'So they've become Sand Hunter-nins… Interesting… But I need to get out of here… They're mission is to capture missing-nins… like myself. I am not ready… to… face my siblings yet…'

And Gaara quickly turned away from his old Village and jumped away. He sighed as he sensed that they began to follow him. 'Damn… They won't stay put…'

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'How odd, I never expected to encounter any of these two…'

Uchiha Itachi was standing on a branch and was using a camouflage technique with the tree and concealed his own Chakra so the two would not notice him. Itachi narrowed his eye as the duo jumped past him. He looked at their retreating forms from the corner of his right eye and then decided to follow them… 

'Orochimaru has been inside of that body for quite some time… He's alone with Sasuke now… It's obvious that he will try and get into Sasuke's body now…'

Itachi followed them with very low Chakra and from a far distance. 

'Foolish brother… He's got you trapped. This is not how I planned it…'

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Why? Why would Naruto do such a thing? Why would Neji do something like that? Did Itachi have something to do with it? This was all so… disturbing. This wasn't like Naruto at all, or for that matter Neji. Have they been manipulated by Itachi? But that can't be, Naruto is too strong-minded for that and Neji is too stubborn. This just couldn't be happening. 

Hinata was trying to sleep in her bed, but her thoughts kept wandering to Naruto and Neji. It has been five years, but her emotions for the blonde boy never left her. Nor did her respect for Neji die down as she also wanted his respect. 

Naruto has always been someone to look up to. At least, he was for her. All the villagers had always resented him. Never did she find out why they would all hate him so. Even when Naruto had proven himself time and time again, the Villagers still kept resenting him. Although he did manage to get respect from a few, but those were all Shinobis, but even still, there were only few who really respected him. She herself respected him from the start… Naruto's first sensei, Iruka, did. Hatake Kakashi and the Third Hokage did. His own team mates did, but that took a little longer, since one was completely infatuated with the other… and the other was totally infatuated with himself. Two Legendary Shinobis respected him… Jiraiya and the Fourth Hokage, Tsunade. Then there were Naruto's little friends… Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon. She knew their names because she often observed Naruto… from a distance. 

And then he got captured by Uchiha Itachi. Did that really change him that much? 

Neji was always someone who controlled himself completely, never letting any other person see his real emotions. But to a Hyuga, it was very obvious he was in pain. He wore the same look as all other members from the Branch Family, but Neji's expression was even worse. Having lost a father because of the stupid rules of the Hyuga Clan did just that. But Neji would never turn against Konoha, never. Could it really be that he got manipulated?

Hinata herself was close to being contempt. She had earned her father's respect and got to know him better. Hiashi wasn't as bad as first. Hinata saw Hiashi had respect for the Branch Family, but he needed to be strict since he was the leader of the Hyuga Clan, Hinata understood. 

And now she couldn't wait for Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, Lee, Shikamaru and Ten-ten to return. 

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'Good, I've lost them… But I used sand to get them off my back… I can expect them to know it was me… ' Gaara thought as he no longer sensed his pursuers. 

Right now he did not know where he was headed, but he just wanted to get away from Sand Village as fast as possible. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he felt an incredible surge of Chakra close by… 

'… That Chakra… That can only be one person…'

And Gaara quickly went for the person he thought was close by… Though he had to hurry, the person was moving insanely fast. 

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Lee was surprised to see Neji actually be really good in TaiJutsu. So far, he had managed to predict his movements without the use of his Byakugan and he could throw in attacks of his own too. Lee shuddered by the thought of Neji using his Byakugan. But then again, Lee had a few powerful secrets of his own. For starters, he had the ability all of the Gates, save for one and the ability to reopen the Heal Gate at any time. It took a lot of training to spice up his Chakra amount, but he felt it was needed so he could use the Heal Gates more than just twice… 

There, Lee hit Neji hard in the face and quickly started a combo with punched in the gut, kicks to his legs, and elbow to his face, followed by an elbow to his ribs. After that, he grabbed Neji by the shoulders and kneed him hard in the stomach, he ended with a powerful uppercut, knocking Neji several feet away. 

"Without the Byakugan, you won't be able to defeat me…" Lee stated as he took on his famous fighting stance. "Let's start again!"

Neji rose from his feet and suddenly disappeared, completely surprising Lee.

Behind Lee, Neji chuckled. "Never heard of an advanced Clone, Lee? It's like the Shadow Clone, but the Advanced Clone can take many blows… You're really good at TaiJutsu, but your eyes are simply not good enough… In the battlefield, tricks are often a helpful asset to victory." Neji said. "I learned that from Naruto…"

Lee's eyes widened slightly. "Naruto-kun? Neji… I do not wish to fight, I just want to take you back to Leaf Village… If you know where Naruto-kun is, then help me find him."

Neji put on a big frown. "You sure can surprise people in battle… You are way too good-hearted to be a true Shinobi. We are in the middle of a battle! Why would I help you? You are my opponent! It's simply a matter of: Let me through or die…"

Lee's features hardened again. "So be it…"

Neji closed his eyes. "My apologies… But the three minutes are up…" Neji opened his eyes and smiled. "Byakugan!!"

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"Why are we stopping?" Sasuke asked.

Orochimaru checked the surrounding before answering. "We sleep here for the night…"

Sasuke frowned. "Where are we heading for anyway? We should be hunting down those two fighters and get our scroll back!"

Orochimaru turned around to face Sasuke. "Those two are long gone." Sasuke frowned as the look in Orochimaru's eyes changed. "Sasuke-kun… I've been in this body for five years now…"

Sasuke frowned. "In this body? So, you want to go look for a new one then? How about we just move on to the next village then?"

Orochimaru smiled. "I've been waiting for five years for this… You can never imagine what it's like to stay in a body that's actually not good enough… Kabuto was a true genius of Medical fighting… But he lacked more important things. I need more than that to be able to aid you in your fight against your brother… Sasuke-kun…"

Sasuke was still frowning at Orochimaru, but his eyes widened as soon as Orochimaru widened his. A huge snake suddenly appeared over the two of them, but it was clearly… "Genjutsu?"

"Possession Jutsu!!" 

(Author's Note: I don't know the name for Orochimaru's Possession Jutsu… My apologies for the AN..)

"Uughh… I can't move…" Sasuke uttered. 

Orochimaru chuckled. "As you brother had once stated to me during my time in the Akatsuki… you really are a weak, foolish person… to actually think that I would train you without a reason…"

Sasuke's glare ripped through Orochimaru, but Orochimaru shrugged it away.

"Fool… Now, I will take your body…"

Sasuke closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. 'Damn it… This isn't how I…'

Suddenly, a slash could be heard and Sasuke opened his eyes to see a Kunai had just been thrown through Orochimaru's neck and someone smaller than him was standing behind him. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he saw the supposedly-dead Orochimaru turn to mud. 'Kawarimi…' As the mud dropped down to the ground, a very familiar face greeted him…

Sasuke went almost mad… 

"Uchiha Itachi… I never thought I would see you here…" Orochimaru said as he landed several feet to Sasuke's left. 'Blast him… He has now totally ruined my plans in one second… But now Sasuke will mostly be focused on his brother… They will fight and then I will take Sasuke, since he will obviously be tired after that fight… But… what if Itachi wins?'

"Orochimaru… I once warned you not to take his body… You will pay now…"

Sasuke was breathing heavily as he was getting filled with dangerous emotions and flashbacks filled his head. 'Itachi… I will kill him!! But Orochimaru…He's standing in the way! And he wants my body!! No, can't think of that! I must kill Itachi!! But Orochimaru is still standing in the way!! I will kill everyone in my way!!'

Orochimaru's eyes widened as Sasuke suddenly turned and rushed towards him… And then he was even more scared as he saw Itachi approach him from another side…

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TBC

A/N: So, what did you think of this chapter? Good enough or…? 


	11. Decisions to be Made

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: Be ready for a few surprises!

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Review Reply Corner:

**Alden**-**san**: Aw man... What a horrible mistake... Thanks for notifying me… Tsunade's the fifth, I know and knew. I didn't know of the Great Naruto bridge, though… Thanks for that! Well, I know there are no Kages in those certain villages… but I just labelled the strongest in that village like that, because, well… SOMEONE has to guard those Scrolls, right?

**CurlsofSerenity**: Well, the story still has a long way before it ends… Be ready to see some big surprises… Here's the next Chappie!

**:D**: yeah, isn't it great? Two Uchihas working together… Well, that's what you'd think from looking at the previous chapter…

**Perverted**-**senin**: Sorry I made that obvious mistake and thanks for the review!!

**Misu**** no Hikaru**: Hehe, well, you don't have to wait any longer, here's the next Chappie!

**Neji**: Many thanks for loving my story!! Thanks for reviewing!

**Loon** **Luu**: Oh, some fights won't even occur. But don't worry, most fights will… Thanks for the review!!

**DocDragon**: Thank god it's good enough! Sasuke and Itachi together… I've never seen that before… But can you imagine two Uchihas fighting against you, while the two of them van both use Mange Sharingan? *shudder*

**SilverKnight7**: Many thanks!! Here's a new chapter!

**Pyr00tje**: Well, read and find out. I hope it entertains you! Prepare yourself for a surprise, though!

**Zsych**: Sexy seduction no Jutsu? Now that's something Naruto or Jiraiya would do… But Sakura? She's too decent for that. You're right, Ino is the girl for it! But I don't do crossovers… Something about those just don't… add up… Anyway! Thanks for the review!!

**EfrainMan**: Hehehehe, Well, here's the next Chappie, be ready to be surprised a little… 

**Nobuyasha**: Heh, thanks for the techniques! I might use them, but I will do them in Japanese though.. Because it just sounds better that way… Sorry for the people who prefer the English names…

**Anonymous**: Many thanks for the review! And thanks for loving my story! Here's a little update!

**RuByMoOn17**: Thanks! I'm pleased you find it amazing!

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**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 11

This was not going his way at all… Fighting Uchihas wasn't something he would make his hobby. The fact that Sasuke was almost as fast as him and Itachi was faster made it more complicated. More troublesome was that he could not look in both their eyes for fear of getting caught in that Mange Sharingan. So Orochimaru saw only one solution…

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

And there he was, towering above the two of them. 

Itachi and Sasuke looked at each other… Sasuke had quite enough of it and just rushed towards Itachi, ignoring Orochimaru and Manda. Itachi parried the physical attacks with his right hand and then kicked Sasuke away, only to see Sasuke quickly pull a Kawarimi. Itachi stepped to the side to avoid the shower of Shurikens Sasuke threw from behind him. 

"Orochimaru! What the hell!! I don't see any real problem here!! Besides two Shinobis down there… Don't tell me you were bested by them!!"

Orochimaru, on Manda's head, spoke up. "Uchiha Sasuke has betrayed us… The other is Uchiha Itachi…" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. 'There's no way I can still get in that body now… I'll have to do it another time… Damn that Itachi…' Orochimaru sighed. "Manda, take me away from here… There's nothing here…"

Manda's eyes widened. "Say what?! You want to run away?!"

"Those two will kill each other…"

On the ground, Itachi was interested in how far Sasuke had become now… "Little brother…" Itachi and Sasuke looked at each other with their Sharingans activated… Itachi closed his eyes and whispered. "Let's see… " Sasuke also closed his eyes…

And then they both yelled. "Mange Sharingan!!"

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How odd… now that he had his Byakugan activated, it should be a lot easier… Sure, Lee had more weights now and now that he had thrown them all off his speed would be a lot higher. But this speed was unbelievable. Usually, no matter what the speed, the Byakugan would always indicate where the attack would come from, since it saw all around. But Lee's speed was so fast, it was even too fast for the Byakugan to see… Neji did not like this one bit, since Lee's strength had also increased greatly… 

So it was no surprise when Lee landed a powerful hit straight in Neji's gut, Neji angrily activated the Advanced Byakugan. 

"Senshin-Byakugan!!"

Neji stared at Lee with his eerie eyes. "Enough… I will stop this little game now…" Neji glared at Lee. 'He has the ability to open the Gates… But I have read the entire Hidden Scroll of the Leaf… Add to that, I have the Senshin-Byakugan… The only thing Lee can do now is use the Gates… Tricky to counter, since his speed will increase a lot too… But my Senshin-Byakugan will be able to sense all movements… Since it actually slows it all a little down… Only Mokito and Naruto are able to let their speed equal their REAL speed through my Senshin-Byakugan… And even then they need more than just their speed to beat me…'

Lee's eyes widened at the sudden change in Neji's eyes. 'What's with his eyes? An upgrade for the Byakugan? This might be difficult… First I'll test this…' 

Lee rushed forward with his great speed and was already planning on landing a fist in Neji's side, only to see Neji disappear and appear behind Lee, while Lee hadn't even made a movement with his fist yet. The pain Lee felt in his back was a pain he hadn't felt for a very long time… The Gentle Fist…

Lee fell on his face, but quickly rolled back up. 'So now he can easily see my speed… And he can counter it easily too… He did hit me good back there…' Lee's eyes narrowed. 'I have to open the gates… Now I will prove to him that a Bloodline Limit really has a limit!'

Neji's eyes narrowed a bit as he watched the Chakra flow in Lee's body. 'So… he's going to do it… I don't want to waste too much time…'

Neji's eyes widened as Lee hit his ankle and then grabbed his face and threw him in a tree. 'Damn… That was fast…' Neji thought as he picked himself off the ground. 'Opening Gates should have taken him longer…' Neji took on his Hyuga Stance and prepared himself for the second round… "Come…"

And Lee rushed forward again, but this time Neji was prepared. Neji moved his body to the left and the right to avoid all blows and kicks Lee was throwing at him. Neji himself could not hit back since Lee was way faster than him. 'Damn… I need more space to perform the Kaiten…' Neji thought as he could only dodge for now…

Lee disappeared and Neji smiled as he immediately performed the "Kaunta-Kaiten!!"

For a bystander it was strange, since you could only see someone spinning like crazy and a few trees getting slammed down… But Lee was moving so fast towards Neji that he couldn't stop moving. All the power Lee had put into the attack he received back and slammed through several trees. 

'Heh, I knew that would work. It was not sure if he would attack me immediately, but considering his speed and his lust to prove himself, he would charge right back in… Hot-blooded fool..'

Neji stopped spinning only to find an elbow right in his face. Neji flew back, landed and immediately performed "Tenketsu-Kaiten!!"

And Lee got immobilized… Neji watched the almost unconscious Lee on the ground. "I'm sorry I had to do that, Lee… But you left me no choice… Perhaps if you were more hesitant in your attacks your chances of winning would be higher… Although if you do that, you give me more time to think and locate you…"

Neji's eyes widened as Lee appeared behind him and kicked him in his back. Neji didn't fall on the ground but landed on his feet. Neji quickly turned around to see Lee was perfectly fine… "How?!"

Lee smiled. "Every Gate has more functions that only allowing me to use Renges… Especially the Heal Gate…"

Neji narrowed his eyes… 'He can open those gates much faster than before… The question is… how often can he open them? Lee was never known for his Chakra amount… But until then I need to be careful….'

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Interesting… Very interesting his idea was. He had senses him a while ago and had decided to let him catch up. It was weird that the two of them encountered each other, especially when the both of them had parted their ways a long distance away from here… But now the two of them encountered each other here, only a few days later… It was like fate had wanted this… 

"So, you're saying we should try again?" Naruto asked. "Do you think we stand a chance now?"

Gaara nodded. "Yes. Both of us have grown far more powerful than before. If we win the battle, we will become even stronger… Our potential will be more than doubled…"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, you're right… We'd be incredibly strong… But… last time, they easily kicked our asses with their Chakra alone… Your demon can use Sand against you and of course the basic Jutsus like Clones… My demon can do that too and he can use his tails that can get through the bars… One tail is enough to let an entire mountain crumble…"

Gaara chuckled. "Are you afraid?"

Naruto sighed. "Heh, I knew you'd say that… Well, I guess I am, but just a little… Where should we go?"

Gaara shrugged. "I don't care… I am not ready yet to destroy my old Village, I discovered."

Naruto looked at Gaara and frowned? "Not ready?"

Gaara looked at Naruto from the corner of his eyes and stared ahead again. "It seems I still… care… for my siblings… They were there when I visited the Sand Village…"

Naruto nodded. "I see… Precious people… I visited my old Village too, as you know… But I decided to destroy it after all this Scroll business is over…"

Gaara nodded. "I will join you in that decision… For now, maybe we should go look for Itachi…"

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Neji dodged all attacks Lee was throwing at him. Lee had gained such a high speed it was even difficult to dodge the attacks with the Senshin-Byakugan. But he managed, the only problem was, he could not attack back because Lee was so damn fast. All of Neji's more effective techniques needed a hand seal and with Lee not giving him any time, Neji could do little. 

Even as Neji used Kawarimi and jumped to another location, Lee was already attacking him again not even a second later. That was how fast Lee had become. But this was nothing new for Neji. He had fought Naruto and Mokito this way as well… The way to be able to do anything was to simply move underground for now. 'Suna Otori…' And then prepare to perform the Summoning no Jutsu…

Lee hit Neji hard in the face, only to see it was a Kawarimi… Lee looked around, but this time he could not sense Neji anywhere. Then, his eyes caught movement to his left, but the only thing he saw was a hand that came out of the ground and then he saw the hand hit the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

Lee's eyes widened… 

Neji jumped out of the ground and gazed at the shocked Lee. "Lee, this one's probably faster than you…"

Lee swallowed nervously as he watched a very big leopard in front of him… 'So he can summon? This is bad… The animal is bigger than me and probably faster too… I… I might be forced to open… ALL of the gates…'

Neji's eyes widened as he saw how the Chakra flow changed in Lee. "You know what will happen if you overexert yourself, right, Lee?" Neji sighed as Lee ignored him. He faced the Leopard, who stood only half a meter taller than Neji. "Hyou… Get rid of him, but don't kill him…"

Lee's eyes widened as the Leopard rushed forward but enough time was given to him. Lee moved in speed unlike any Neji had ever witnessed before and Lee served a kick to Hyou's face. A kick that could not be dodged. Neji was a little surprised at this speed but smirked… 'Heh, now that I have witnessed that kind of speed, my Senshin-Byakugan can calculate how to effectively fight against it… But there's no need to do that. Hyou can not be defeated by a human…' Neji tilted his head. 'Well, that's excluding Naruto and Gaara… but those two aren't really humans…'

Hyou lashed out towards Lee after receiving the kick, but found that Lee had moved behind her. Hyou also had a very high speed and disappeared, so Lee's punch and the following kick never connected. Lee disappeared after Hyou appeared to his left, his jaws wide open, ready to crunch Lee. The fight went on like this, one disappearing after another, Lee was doing pretty good against the huge Leopard.

'It should be over soon… He won't be able to stay too long in that state…' His reasoning was proven as Hyou's claws connected twice with Lee's body. Huge gushes were seen In Lee's side and blood was pouring out… 

Nevertheless, Lee jumped up, but Hyou was already on the attack and another slash connected, causing Lee to land on his back again. 

"Give it up, Lee… You're too wounded to go on." Neji frowned and analyzed. 'So, he's going for the Heal Gate again…' Neji looked at Hyou. "Hyou, make sure he won't be able to move again."

Hyou quickly rammed a paw on Lee's back, making sure Lee would not get away. Neji slowly walked towards Lee and crouched before him. "Now you can't move at all… You do realize that I could kill you here and now… But…" Neji narrowed his eyes at Lee and then his look softened just a tiny bit… "Time is not given to me…" Neji finished, hopping on Hyou's back. "Hyou, let's go! Leave this Hot-blooded fool here…"

And with awesome speed, Hyou leaped away, leaving Lee to rest and cough up lots of blood… Immediately he activated the Heal Gate so the wounds on his body would no longer be lethal…

After that, he shot one look at the direction Neji went and then returned back to his camp…

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Truly surprising… A conflict between two Mange Sharingans led to a fight within heir minds… A fight of who would gain more control over the other's mind… Both Sasuke and Itachi felt the Chakra being ripped out of their bodies because of the longer than usual use of the Mange Sharingan. But none of them would stop, because if they would… They would suffer even more…

And then, they both dropped to their knees…

Itachi coughed from exhaustion and stared at Sasuke. "You've come a long way… brother… Seems we have to fight each other without the Sharingan…" Itachi said as his Sharingan faded from his eyes. He still was a little less tired than Sasuke and without the Sharingan he could perform techniques much easier. Itachi performed a long set of hand seals and then pointed both his hands at the sky… "Katon Ryuu!!"

Sasuke was still coughing and breathing heavily as he saw a gigantic wave of fire being released from Itachi's person. He watched as a huge fire dragon danced through the skies and then dissipated. Sasuke grinned. 'Heh, he does not have enough Chakra to make sure that attack would land on me. That must have made him lose a lot of Chakra.'

Itachi stared at Sasuke, who was standing up now. "I will kill you, Itachi…"

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Gaara and Naruto looked at each other at the display of power in the skies… "That's Itachi's sign…" Naruto yelled as he watched Gaara. Gaara nodded as the two of them moved as fast they could towards where the huge dragon of fire flew through the skies..

Throughout their training, all of them had created a technique big enough for others to notice from a distance. Naruto's was a huge red head of a fox roaring and moving through the skies. Gaara's was Shukaku's head and it was doing the same thing as Naruto's. Neji and Dareda's sign was huge cloud of Blue Chakra which would make the sky turn the opposite colour of what it currently was at that time. Itachi's was a huge dragon of fire and Kisame's was a huge dragon of water. It was very obvious what Sinobi's would be, but he had opted for a huge bird of electricity to soar through the skies. Mokito did not know a technique big enough, because she was unable to be able perform one.

Right now, Naruto and Gaara could imagine that a lot more people were rushing towards the spot… 

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TaiJutsu is what the two of them could only do now… Sasuke could not choose to go Level 1 or 2 of the Curse Seal, because it would simply kill him. He had little to no Chakra in his body now. The same was with Itachi. The two of them were now throwing Kunais and Shurikens at each other while the only attacks were punches, kicks, elbows, knees and even head butts. They both were just so exhausted…

And that was when a stranger came running into the scene… 

Itachi and Sasuke looked at the man, who was obviously no Shinobi. The man's eyes widened at the horrifying looks that came from Itachi and Sasuke and he simply ran away again. Sasuke and Itachi looked at each other again as both were panting…

Suddenly, both of their heads whipped up as they sensed persons approaching them. Persons with a lot of Chakra. That was when Sasuke understood…

'That was no attack! That was a sign for help!! I have to get out of here!!' 

Itachi was surprised to see Sasuke jump away from him. Itachi sighed. 'So, he wants to kill me, but he's not ready to die? Then he's still not ready yet… Orochimaru has made a coward of him even more…'

Itachi smiled a small smile as he saw Kisame jump out of a tree, followed by Sinobi and then Mokito. Naruto and Gaara arrived together and after a little while he saw Neji sitting on Hyou's back. Dareda arrived last. 

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 "Naruto and Sasuke?!" Kakashi uttered unbelieving. "So… Naruto has killed one of our ANBU?" Kakashi asked, not believing it even more…

Tsunade nodded as she looked at Gai, Kakashi, Asuma, Shikamaru, Ten-Ten and a slightly wounded Lee…

"Lee… what has happened to you?" She asked. 

Lee smiled embarrassedly and scratched the back of his head. "I… well…"

"He foolishly intercepted someone all alone. He's lucky he survived the encounter. His wounds were lethal, he was fortunate he knew how to control the Gates." Kakashi reported. 

Tsunade looked at Lee, her look unreadable. "Who did you fight, Lee?"

Lee looked at Tsunade and sighed. "Hyuga Neji… I am sorry I was not able to bring him back to the Village."

Kakashi was in deep thought as Tsunade began to lecture him about how he should never fight alone and how he should not feel sorry about things he could not have changed. 

'So, all of them are still alive… Naruto, Sasuke… Gaara was spotted close to this village, by himself. Neji was also alone… So now they're moving on their own through the lands? What are they up to? Are they part of the Akatsuki as well?'

Suddenly, a Chuunin jumped into the Hokage's office. "Hokage-sama!! We have a situation! A missing-nin is standing in front of the gates!!"

Tsunade looked at the Chuunin surprised. "Who did he say he was?"

"Uchiha Sasuke…"

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The group was reunited again. Everyone nodded towards each other and all them talked about what they had done in the short amount of time… 

Everyone was surprised however, as Itachi suddenly told them, that the Scroll was taken from him…

Itachi looked at all of them… "This guy was more powerful than me… He had a certain ability to drain Chakra fast, even faster than a Sharingan and a Curse Seal combined… He used spores all around and his own Chakra alone attracted all forms of Chakra towards him… I was more then exhausted as our fight came to an end… He's not unbeatable… But you'll have to end a battle with him as fast as possible. His attacks are more than intriguing and my Sharingan could not copy any of them…"

"Bloodline Limit?" Dareda asked. 

Itachi nodded. "Probably…" He then faced Naruto. "You still have both scrolls?" Naruto nodded. "Good… I think we should head to Leaf Village…"

Naruto's eyes widened. "What?! Why?!"

Itachi calmly regarded Naruto. "Because Leaf Village is the strongest Village. This is no time for another war… The Akatsuki probably has all scrolls except the two you carry… Put your grudges aside…" He said, looking at Naruto, Neji and Dareda. "Only the Leaf Village has the information about how to stop the assembling of the Hidden Scrolls."

Naruto gritted his teeth and was about to unleash some of his anger. 

"You think they'll let us in?" Neji asked. 

"They'll have to… We are the strongest Shinobis… We will be their last chance of survival… Without us, they don't stand a chance. You saw how easily we could get the Hidden Scroll of the Leaf… And the Akatsuki is probably stronger than us." Itachi said, earning a few unbelieving glares. Especially Naruto and Gaara did not believe that.

"So, we head for Leaf now…"

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Uchiha Sasuke?! Why was he here? Did he hear about the Akatsuki's plans? Was he Akatsuki himself? One thing was for sure… they could not let him enter the Village just like that… Now all of them were leaping over the roofs towards the Gate.

As they came there, Lee looked down on Sasuke as he stood on the one of the towers beside the Gate. Lee frowned.. Sasuke was in no condition to fight. He was too tired and in that condition he simply was no threat to the Village. The fact that he would appear here in that state was unbelievable, considering the fact that this Village was out for his death…

"Hokage-sama… I came to offer my apologies… I no longer serve Orochimaru as I know his real plans… I also know what the Akatsuki is up to and wish to aide you in your battle against them…"

Tsunade regarded him and narrowed her eyes. 'This could easily be one of Orochimaru's traps…' Tsunade narrowed her eyes even more. "Where is Orochimaru now?"

Sasuke looked at Tsunade. "I don't know… Before my encounter with Uchiha Itachi, Orochimaru had revealed his plans. Itachi intervened and Orochimaru ran away. Me and Itachi fought a short battle before more started interrupting. I have nowhere to go… I am from the Leaf… Please… accept me back…"

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Leaf Village… It just doesn't make any sense to me. I hate the Village and Itachi knows that. Why are we headed for that stupid Village anyway? So they can help us fight the Akatsuki? They would only slow us down! They're far too weak to help us! I'm stronger than Itachi, who is stronger than Orochimaru, I believe. And Orochimaru is stronger than Tsunade, the Hokage, the most powerful person, of the Leaf. Hmm, I don't know about that, because I know Jiraiya's stronger than her. Is Jiraiya stronger than Itachi? Hmph, like it matters. Once I call up Kyuubi's Chakra it's all over… 

So it is back to Leaf Village now. I can understand Naruto's behaviour. I do not want to return to Sand Village either, without the reason for destroying it, that is. Now Naruto has to enter the Village and NOT destroy it. That would be hard, considering he has been completely betrayed by it. But if they make the first move to attack us, I will help Naruto in destroying the Village.

I wonder how their reactions will be like. I wonder how much of the Hyuga Main Family is left. Maybe me and Dareda should pay the remaining few of the Main Family a visit, to make sure they won't survive again, to make sure this Curse Seal on my head will never be activated ever again... I wonder what Naruto will do once we get there… I think he has it the hardest now… He's not allowed to do anything, for all will not go as planned then. Judging from the look on his face, Naruto is completely frustrated. This will be very interesting…

I can see the confused looks on their faces. I can only hope Naruto will not lose control once we get there. But when he does, I don't think we can stop them. The bond that has begun to form between Naruto and Gaara will be proven, because when Naruto will go berserk, I'm sure Gaara will help him out. Neji will follow the example and so will Dareda then. What will happen once we get to Leaf Village will totally depend on Naruto's actions…

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TBC

Should Sasuke be accepted in the Village?

What will happen when Naruto and the others stand at the Gate of Leaf Village?

What is Orochimaru up to?

Hehehehe, all is going as planned…

Anyway, Here's a list of the new Akatsuki members:

**The Akatsuki Leader…**

Name Still unknown

Male/Female

**Doro Odei: Sand missing-nin**

Paired with Aburame Turin

Male

**Sukumi Tachi: Stone Missing-nin**

He's with Hiraga Matsu and Baeda

Male

**Aburame Turin: Leaf Missing-nin**

Paired with Doro Odei

Female

From the Aburame Clan

**_New Recruits:_**

**Okurujin: Sound Missing-nin**

Same Clan as Sakon…

Male and Female, five persons in one

- already dead.

**Hiraga Matsu: Unknown where he came from**

He's with Sukumi Tachi and Baeda

Artificial arm: Arm Cannon

Male

**Baeda: Unknown where she came from**

Female

She's with Sukumi Tachi and Hiraga Matsu

**Takabashi Serra**

Female

**Takabashi Nakao**

Male

**The Shinobi with the Spores…: Unknown where he came from**

Male

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	12. Flown Achievements

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: Uhmm, Well, in this chapter there will be a lot of fighting. I'm not entirely sure whether to make this the definite Chapter 12, since a lot of crazy stuff will happen that I can also change, if for some reason it didn't go as I planned for in the next few chapters. So please tell me if you like this chapter or not, cause that will decide whether or not this will be the real chapter 12, oh well, please enjoy, it's about 5000 words. A lot of new Jutsus make their appearance in this chapter, so I updated the Jutsu List as well. You can look all New Jutsus up in there. Enjoy!

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Review Reply Corner:

**Hatutteline**: Thanks for still having a bit of faith in the fic ^_^. Well, in this chapter it IS about fights mostly, but it was needed to be able to continue with the plot.

**Pyr00tje**: Hehe, Reunion times will have to wait for a bit now…

**:D**: No worries! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well!

**Per**: Be careful what you wish for… though the chances of Itachi and Sasuke actually working together are really really small… Especially if you want to make it believable.

**Licht** **Sieger**: Uhmm, thanks for the review! I hope you don't get mad if you read on, but it's a war, and all allies that can be received will be needed in a war…

**Curlsofserentiy**: Thanks! I hope it remains good as well…

**Jczavala**: ^_^ WOW! You actually think so? Well, thanks!! Here's the next Chappie!

**SilverKnight7**: Well, you'll have to wait a little bit longer ^_^, or maybe not, hehe… Read and find out!

**DocDragon**: Surprise, surprise! Uhhmm, well a little surprising perhaps… Oh, and about Hiraga, yeah please send it to me!

**Perverted**-**senin**: Thanks for the review!! I hope you like this chapter as well!

**Misu** **no** **Hikaru**: Hehe, yeah I did keep most Leaf-nins from meeting Naruto, but that was on purpose… *bows with a grin on his face*

**Sirus183**: OMG! You actually believe so? Thanks a million! Well, here's the update, please enjoy!

**Nobuyasha**: Well, I'll translate them myself, so thanks for the new Jutsus anyway! I hope you'll enjoy this Chappie!

**Arthain**: Hehe, perhaps we'll get to that… But I don't know… Naruto has changed a lot…

**Ino** **Pig**: Here's the next lil update! Hope you enjoy and thanks for the review!

**EfrainMan**: Thanks for the review!! I hope you will like what will occur in this chapter!

**The-TempesT**: Well, here's the next Chapter, you no longer have to wait, or….

**Anonymous**: The best?! You think so? Thanks so much!! Here's the update!

**Zsych**: Yes, Lee probably does have a high amount of Chakra… I'll correct that. But his fast movements alone cost him a lot of Chakra. Imagine how much Chakra he uses for the speed he has now… All those push-ups and what not, are for the building up of speed and power… I think. And about summons, well, I just thought that most summons are superior in most departments, compared to humans. 

**New** **user** **of** **the** **Rasengan**: Please don't kill me! Here's the next update! Thanks for the (threatening) Review!! ^_^

**Magicalfoci**: My god, you're actually comparing the manga/anime and my fanfiction? And you're positive about it too?! Really, reviews like these help me write faster… Thank you so much for the review!

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**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 12

Oh, how many surprises her title had given her so far. The many secrets a Hokage carried and kept from his or her own Village were now common knowledge for her. Now a member of the best Clan in her Village stood before her. He was from a Clan that will be considered extinct soon enough. His own brother had killed the entire Clan and made this one before her an Avenger. Two were left from the strongest Clan. Still, the Clan could be revived… The Hyugas were still alive, well, most of them. It seems Hyuga Dareda had paid a visit together with Itachi, strange enough. It seems the Sharingan user had a neck for destroying Konoha's best Clans. 

"So… You no longer serve Orochimaru and you want to help us fight against the Akatsuki?" Tsunade yelled from on top of the towers beside the enormous Gate of Konoha. 

Sasuke looked up and gazed at the Hokage. "Yes. I would like to return. I regret making the decisions I have made in the past. My allegiance lies with Konoha. Please accept me…"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Who says you're not lying, Uchiha Sasuke? Perhaps this is one of Orochimaru's traps or maybe even one of your own? Tell me why should I believe you?"

Sasuke's gaze dropped to the ground. "I don't know how I can prove myself to you… I have nothing left… I can no longer grow stronger except for in this Village. The most powerful Village… I fought my brother and learned I still have to improve to beat him. But I also have to kill Orochimaru. I need to get stronger… without this Curse Seal…"

On top of the Towers beside the Gate Kakashi, Tsunade, Gai, Asuma and Jiraiya analyzed the Uchiha. "You will be watched by ANBU day and night. You will NOT, I repeat, NOT start any fight in this Village… If I hear anything bad from you, you will die… You're still considered a Missing-nin…" Tsunade paused in her tirade. ""You will be a Leaf Shinobi again… If we, you too, have defeated the Akatsuki completely."

Sasuke nodded. "I understand… Hokage-sama." Sasuke said. "Where am I to stay?"

Tsunade snorted. "Find some place to stay yourself." With that said they all left, while Tsunade was on her way to inform the ANBU to switch duties and tighten security around the Village. 'Am I doing the right thing?'

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One minute they were all running apace towards Leaf Village and the other minute they had to slow down, for the enemies were right in front of them, waiting… Akatsuki and many of them…

Itachi, Dareda. Kisame, Mokito and Sinobi recognised a few of them. 'Aburame Turin, Doro Odei and Sukumi Tachi.' Sinobi summed up. 'The old Akatsuki members… Hatsu and Teri are with Orochimaru. Those others I don't know, never seen them either.'

"That man has dangerous Chakra around himself…" Dareda stated. "It's Chakra draining. Kind of like a Sanmai no Jutsu, only slower, but it seems it's permanent and it covers the entire area…"

Itachi narrowed his eyes at the stranger. "Yes, he is the one that took the Sand Scroll from me… Let us take it back now… His Chakra drains our Chakra and pretty fast too…" Itachi turned to Naruto and Gaara. "This fight might force you to go full out…"

Naruto and Gaara nodded with a full grin. 'It's been a while since I've done that. It's been even longer since we've done that together…' Naruto thought as he grinned at Gaara, who smiled back. 'This could be fun…'

"How about introducing yourselves?" Sinobi  asked. "I'm Raidou Sinobi…"

A man and a woman stepped forward. "Takabashi Serra." The girl stated and the boy continued. "Takabashi Nakao."

"Baeda." The old woman with cloth on her eyes coughed.

"Hiraga Matsu…" The man with countless headbands introduced. 

And the man whose Chakra was draining other Chakra. "Kutake Kinoko"

And then every one who was with Naruto and Itachi introduced themselves.. 

Aburame Turin stared at Naruto. "He's the one who carries the two Scrolls… Be careful, he's pretty good…"

"The one with the weird arm is mine…" Dareda stated as he watched beyond the cloth which was covering his arm and saw the arm cannon Matsu carried.

Itachi nodded. "I'll take Aburame Turin…" 

Kisame chuckled and continued. "I'll take that foolish Wind Shinobi, Doro Odei…"

Mokito narrowed her eyes at Baeda. "I'm not taking the old woman, so I'll take Sukumi Tachi."

Neji closed his eyes and smiled. "I'll take one of those two…" He said as he watched the Takabashi siblings.

Sinobi shrugged. "Well, I'll take the old woman then…"

Gaara and Naruto stared at each other. "We'll take those who are left…"

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Uchiha Sasuke trudged through his old Village and had looked for apartments to stay in for two hours now, with no luck. The Village itself had not changed in appearance. But the behaviour of the village was much more subdued now and all were more alert as well. Sasuke's eyes widened, though, as he saw two girls stand in front of him. 'Oh no…'

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura started. "How… How are you?"

Ino Yamanaka looked uncertain as she gazed at Sasuke. "Have you returned… for good now?"

Sasuke shook his head. 'Some things never change…' He stared rather coldly at them. "Stay out of my way. I have no intention in reminiscing." He walked past them, but turned around. "Also, I do NOT have any feelings for either of you. I think it's time for you two to move on… It's been five years!" Sasuke ended turning around again, continuing his quest for an apartment. 'Five years… I had hoped for my old home to still be standing… But sadly, I was mistaken…'

"Sasuke-kun!!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he heard the two girls run towards him. 'Now what?!' He thought angrily as he whizzed around, his frustration showing in his movements. "What?!"

Sakura and Ino both stopped in front of him and stared at him. "You're a jerk, Sasuke-kun." Ino stated, indicating it as a fact. 

Sasuke would roll his eyes, but they were starting to hurt from all the rolling from before. "Yeah, well, that really hurts me…" He mockingly replied.

"I… WE… just wanted to say, we don't like you anymore…" Ino talked for the both of them.

Sasuke turned his back to them. "Hm. Thanks." With that, he left the scene, leaving the two girl behind.

'How annoying… It's been five years and those two are still exactly the same…' Sasuke let his thoughts about the two girls fade away. 'Orochimaru… I'll kill you after all of this is over. And after that, I will kill Itachi, for I will be stronger then. And now… to look for an apartment.'

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Itachi knew how to fight the bug woman, since he knew her from the Akatsuki. Immune to physical attacks and she has techniques to drain Chakra and a dangerous summon too… Itachi smirked. When push comes to shove… Naruto, Gaara and Neji can all summon their greatest summons at once. Itachi smirked even more, since Turin was afraid to attack him. 

He quickly used Kage Shuriken three times, killed three Bug Clones with it and had forced the real Turin to show, only to get a fire attack straight in the face. Itachi stepped to the side to avoid Turin's poisonous spit, which was just a diversion to allow Turin's bugs to heal her face. Itachi performed many hand seals and shot black fire around Turin so she had nowhere to escape. Itachi made the black fire embrace Turin. Turin jumped through the fire, burned as hell, only to look straight into Itachi's eyes. Turin was frozen in place… 

"Do you know that the Mange Sharingan leaves many options for me to use against my opponents? One is the Tsukiyomi… which crucifies you in your own mind and leaves you open for mental and physical attacks, but ONLY for your mind… I have developed a new one… By usage of Chakra and the Mange Sharingan it is possible… You will be the second I'm going to use it on… I call it… Amaterasu…"

Itachi smiled as the effects started to kick in on Turin and explained, the others were too busy to fight to hear it anyway. "Instead of being crucified in the darkness of your own mind, where all your deepest secrets are revealed to me… You get crucified by hypnosis from my side… You're manipulated into using your own full Chakra to lift your own body up. Usually that's not enough to make a person actually float, but with a bit of my Chakra, you're crucified outside of your mind… right here…" Itachi said as Turin floated in the air and had her arms spread to the side and her legs over one another, like being crucified. 

Itachi grinned. "You will die… You won't be able to move and you're completely in my control…" Itachi deactivated his Sharingan. "Even when I deactivate my Sharingan…" Then he grabbed several Kunais and began slashing at Turins body, careful not to touch her physically. Turin's screams were horrifying… while she was unable to move away…

Not too far away, Dareda was easily dodging Matsu's arm cannon bullets and had already noticed the poison within them. Then again, Dareda could simply release Chakra from his own points to avoid getting hit by the bullets, but he didn't feel like wasting Chakra for that as he slowly advanced towards the shooting Hiraga. Dareda stopped advancing as Hiraga stopped shooting. With his Byakugan he saw that Hiraga's blood was the fuel for the Cannon. 'A Book?'

Hiraga revealed a book in his hands and started looking through it. Dareda frowned, feeling ridiculed. He started spinning like crazy and blew Hiraga away. As Hiraga floated in the air, gritting his teeth to avoid screaming in pain, he performed hand seals. Dareda was unfamiliar with the Jutsu.

"Kage Henkei!!"

Dareda's eyes widened at the creature floating in the air. Dareda closed his and shook his head and opened his eyes again. 'No, it's really true… What the hell is that?!'

The creature was still flailing around towards the ground, his wings seemed to be useless for flying. As it fell hard, it also disappeared with a puff of smoke, which made Dareda frown even more. 'What? So one damaging hit will make it change back to him? Kinda like Kage Bunshins then…' Dareda thought.

Hiraga cursed loudly. "Damn it!! My drawing had an error… The wings weren't finished yet! Shit! Time to do another…" He said as he grabbed his little book with drawings again and did the seals again. Dareda simply let him. 

"Kage Henkei!!"

Dareda shook his head. "Strange, really… To use a technique like that against someone who already knows how to defeat it. A Shadow Transformation only takes one hit. I am a Byakugan user who is specialised in delivering hits to my enemy… or to put it differently… You don't stand a chance…"

The monster before him in which Hiraga had transformed in didn't seem to react and simply charged forward.

'Foolish…' Dareda thought as he quickly activated his Byakugan to see where he would attack and where the openings would be… 'There!'

With simple movements to the left he dodged two vicious slashed and hit the gigantic leg once, making the huge creature turn back into Hiraga. 

"I told you, why won't you believe me?" Dareda stated and smirked, but then sighed. "I'm the worst opponent for you… Senshin-Byakugan!!" Dareda analyzed every little thing about Hiraga and also observed all drawings in Hiraga's sketch book. "Now I have found a way to beat you instantly… but I'm hesitant, because it's too easy…"

'A lot of power is needed to even make him feel my impacts on his body… I already knew this when I chose him as my enemy.' Mokito glanced at the other fighters as she still kept up her guard. 'Everyone seems to be intent on finishing this as fast as possible. Itachi has almost killed his opponent already…'

Suddenly the ground around her and beneath her crumbled. 'Bunshin?' Five Clones of Stone jumped out of the ground, while Mokito had already left her previous spot with high speed. 'These Bunshins also need to inflict a lot of damage…'

And with great speed, Mokito began her pounding on the Clones, while the real Sukumi performed new hand seals. "Doton, Tsuchi Kaijou Toujyou!!"

As Mokito had pummelled the last Clone to debris, she observed how four weird looking creatures were slowly ascending from the ground. From the looks of it, they were consistent only of mud and stone. Kind of like the clones she had just beaten.

Sukumi chuckled. "Your speed has always been too high for any of us. But this skill will keep you busy long enough for me to defeat you."

And the creatures mindlessly started attacking Mokito, who easily dodged all attacks.

Up until now, Neji had easily seen through all the attacks the boy was throwing at him. 'Hmph, seems like I'm this guy worst opponent, he hadn't even landed one hit on me and he's already panting…' Suddenly, Nakao Takabashi, smirked as his pupil slightly changed yellow and the veins in his eyes, which are usually red, were now slightly gold… Neji frowned. 'Bloodline Limit?'

Nakao laughed at Neji. "I'm your opponent, you can call me… Saber…"

Neji stared at Nakao unfazed. 'Saber?'

Suddenly, Nakao was above Neji and was quickly descending towards him. "Zaneiken!!"

Neji jumped away and watched as Nakao's fist dug a hole in the ground where he just stood. His Byakugan observed how the damage in the ground expanded towards him. 'What…?! Shadows?!' Shadows were approaching him from where Nakao stood. 

Nakao rose to his feet and his features indicated insanity as he stared at Neji. "These Shadows will tear you apart by a single touch…"

'I don't think Kaiten will work against this. The shadows are still coming at me and spreading like hell… What to do?' Neji thought and quickly jumped to safety as the shadows reached him. 'On top of that, that guy is standing in the middle of these shadows. I can't get close to him. But he doesn't have a keen eye, ear or nose, so… Taiyuu Bunshin!!'

Neji hid himself and let his clone distract Nakao, while he prepared the Sanmai no Jutsu…

"Suiton, Hanrai Suigai!!" Kisame yelled and launched a gigantic tidal wave at Doro Odei, who in turn, performed difficult hand seals, probably to defend.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!" A gigantic Hawk appeared with Doro on his head. The Hawk totally caught the huge Tidal Wave, but was immensely damaged by it. It seemed Doro didn't have another way to defend the attack. 

"Oushu, are you okay?" Doro asked the Hawk. "Can you still fly?'

The hawk nodded its head and stared at Kisame, who had just ended a new set of hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A huge turtle appeared, with Kisame on its head. "Let's end this quickly, Shougakke! Oushu is already heavily damaged..' Kisame stated. 'I have to end this quickly, my previous attack almost drained all of my Chakra… When I'm out of Chakra, all I can use is Itsuha Chakra no Katana… But when I have to use all of it… I won't survive…'

Gaara was not having a lot of fun. This Spore guy was definitely something else… His attacks had little to no effect, but Gaara could feel his own Chakra quickly dropping. As he observed the others, he saw the same symptoms. 'This is not going well… I have to kill this guy as fast as I can… So far his attacks did not get past my Armor of Sand… '  

"Kirimaku!!" Kinoko suddenly yelled out. Gaara was surprised he didn't have to do hand seals to perform the attack. 

Gaara watched as Spores were all around him. 'I'm getting nauseous… and my Chakra is getting drained at a higher rate… Not good…' Gaara narrowed his eyes and growled. 'It seems I have to use Shukaku now…'

Kinoko, so far not showing any emotion at Gaara, be it pride, disappointment or fear, now showed surprise as he watched Gaara release Chakra from the inside. 'That should not be possible…'

Gaara smirked evilly and disappeared from view. Kinoko looked all around him and was suddenly hit by a massive amount of sand. Kinoko quickly jumped to his feet. "Meihoushi!!"

Gaara appeared several feet in front of Kinoko and narrowed his eyes. "Suna Shuriken Sukasshu!!"

Kinoko let the Sand Shurikens approach him and calmly watched them all dissipate into nothing. Gaara slightly snarled as he saw his attack fail in its mission. He continued with a new set of seals. As he finished the seals, he glared at Kinoko. "Now you will die… Shukaku Kai…"

Both Naruto and Gaara had found a way to let a lot of their demons' Chakra come out and be controlled by themselves. The first stage was a simple surge of Chakra, the second stage was a transformation, but they would still be completely their selves… Gaara now had Shukaku's tail, arms and legs, but Gaara did not grow in size at all. 

"Die!! Fuuton Renkuudan!!"

Kinoko quickly jumped out of the way, to avoid the destructive wind blast that came his way. 'This guy has a lot of Chakra in him… These people are all very skilled. All of them should already have been out cold. I've fought that guy before…' Kinoko thought as he stared at Itachi, who was panting, and was finishing off with Aburame Turin. 'He was also difficult to fight… But this guy…' He looked back at the transformed Gaara. 'is even more complicated…'

Naruto was having fun with his opponent. She was really skilled and they had pummelled each other pretty bad already. But from the looks of it, Naruto had the upper hand. "Come on! Rasengan!!" Serra jumped to avoid the huge spiral. "Rasengan!!" Serra barely dodged the second and appeared behind Naruto, who in turn, disappeared and yelled from above: "Karm no Jutsu!!"

Serra watched as a huge beam was shot from Naruto's hands. She easily sidestepped the beam and waited for it to make its impact on the ground. She was surprised to see, the beam divide into four other beams, all directed at her. Serra's eyes widened and she ran as fast as she could… 'This guy is really good… So far he has easily dealt with all of my attacks… Any normal person would be lying on the ground, hoping to survive now… But this guy looks like he didn't even feel my attacks…'

The Karm no Jutsu dissipated and Serra stared at Naruto. 'Looks like I have to go all out now…' Serra closed her eyes and re-opened them, to reveal red irises.

Naruto looked a little better and didn't do anything just yet. 'Sharingan? But that can't be…'

"I call this my Ember-state… There is no way you can win now…"

Naruto grinned. "Is that so? Kyoubou Bunshin!!"

Naruto's Kyuubi Clones rushed forward, only to be ruthlessly slashed in half by Serra's hands, which were surrounded by Chakra. Naruto narrowed his eyes. 'Damn, I didn't think anyone could rip these clones of mine that easily apart… Looks like this one's a real challenge… However…' Naruto grinned and immediately made Kyuubi Chakra come out. 

Serra looked surprised to see red Chakra surround Naruto's body. "I call this my… Kyoubou-State…"

And then Serra was ruthlessly grabbed by the neck by Naruto's left hand in less than an instant and felt the awesome punches from Naruto's right fist. Serra qcuikly kicked Naruto away and performed "Toraryuu Rendan!!"

Naruto found himself being burned by all sides as Serra punched and kicked him with all she's got and with Chakra surrounding her entire body. As Naruto landed on the ground, he found himself with gashes all over his body… 'Damn… That was a real good combo… if it wasn't for Kyuubi's healing ways… I'd be dead now…'

Serra landed several feet away from him and stared dumbfounded as the wounds on Naruto's body began to heal immediately. 'That can't be!!'

Naruto jumped up on his feet and grinned. "Looks like even this won't be good enough for you, ey? Well…" Naruto sighed and did a single-handed seal. "Kyuubi Kai!"

Serra gulped loudly as she watched Naruto's eyes turn blood red, his hands turning into vicious claws and his teeth razor-sharp.Despite all these new aspects, Naruto didn't grow in size at all. "I never expected that I would be forced to use this Jutsu on any opponent… Where have you been all this time?! I've been wanting to try this on someone other than Gaara…"

Gaara was panting on his knees. So far Kinoko had not been able to even attack Gaara, since he was too fast in this transformed state. Kinoko did not even have time to utter words. So he wished Gaara would soon grow tired. Kinoko was now completely focused on letting the spores that were filling the air around everyone drains the Chakra. The main problem was that the other Akatsuki members' Chakra also was getting drained.

Kinoko looked at the panting Gaara and watched how Gaara transformed back to his normal state. 'It is done…' Kinoko looked up to see Naruto was easily defeating Serra in his transformed state. 'Hmmm, that one is even more skilled, it seems… His ability is to have an enormous amount of Chakra… How long will it take before he runs out?' Kinoko looked at the others… 

Kisame and Doro's summons had already vanished from the scenery, Kisame's summon had the Hawk cornered. The Hawk disappeared and Kisame made his Turtle disappear after that. Both Doro and Kisame were too exhausted to go on. Itachi was too tired to go on, but had killed Turin. Before him, Gaara was panting like hell and was glaring at him. Kinoko glared back. 'These guys are definitely something else… The second time we meet, they will probably know how to fight me…' 

Kinoko observed the others. The two Hyugas were still standing, but were already low on Chakra, they had beaten their enemies, but had not yet killed them. This meant that after the battle was over, he had to carry a lot of people… So, he had to create a few clones… Kinoko watched Sinobi and Baeda, who were both already unconscious. 'Those two don't have much Chakra compared to the others…' Suddenly, Kinoko was forced to jump away from a huge hand of sand. 

"You still have Chakra?" Kinoko grumbled, but was suddenly slashed in the side by an attacking Naruto. 'Shit..!' Kinoko fell to the ground. 'These two are the strongest it seems…' He looked to the side to see the youngest Hyuga fall on his knees, while the other Hyuga was already unconscious. 'Damn…' A still transformed Naruto and Gaara were staring at him. Naruto rushed forward, while Gaara was almost out of Chakra.

Kinoko couldn't keep up with Naruto's speed and the air got knocked out of his lungs as Naruto dug his right fist in his stomach. Naruto's left fist slashed a big wound on Kinoko's chest. Kinoko fell backwards and during his fall he spitted out several spores on the ground. He slammed against a tree with his back and quickly and desperately performed hand seals… "Daitakegari!!"

Naruto and Gaara watched as five huge mushrooms appeared on the ground. Instantly, the entire area looked like being sucked dry. Naruto and Gaara both also fell their Chakra being drained at a very high rate. Even Kinoko fell on his knees, but for a different reason. 

Naruto changed back to his normal state and heavily breathed. Kinoko watched with awe as Naruto was still standing on his feet. "You can still stand?" Kinoko stared at Gaara, who was still conscious, but wasn't able to fight on and was lying on the ground. He turned back to Naruto. "You're really something else…" Naruto rushed forward to viciously punch Kinoko in the face. Naruto did a few hand seals, but found himself unable to do his Kage Bunshin… 

Kinoko grinned as he panted. "Any Jutsu… Any seal.. wil be deactivated immediately because of the mushrooms…" Kinoko narrowed his eyes. 'I'm too exhausted to continue on any longer. I hope he faints soon… if I go unconscious, than he will surely recover… because all of my Jutsus will be deactivated if I go down. I can still…' Kinoko smirked. "However, I can still use my Jutsu, because these summons are mine! This element of fighting is completely mine…"

"Kindokuya!!"

The Mushrooms all started shooting poisonous arrows at Naruto, who was dodging for his life. Soon, though, he fell face down on the ground as his Chakra was out…

Kinoko sighed heavily as he deactivated the Summoning and fell to his knees. He watched Gaara and Naruto. 'What Shinobis… To think people like them are present in this world… I never thought it was possible for anyone to stay conscious that long around me when I have my spores activated…' Kinoko rose to his feet, walked over to Naruto and grabbed the Scrolls. 'I have to get out of here… I can only manage a single ordinary other clone, but no Spore Clone… I can lift two people, three if I feel like it… and my clone can also…' 

Slowly, Kinoko performed a hand seal very tiredly and a Clone appeared beside him. He made the clone carry the Takabashi siblings and Doro Odei. He himself carried Hiraga Matsu, Baeda and Sukumi Tachi. 'I want to kill them for being so strong… but I'm too tired and can't risk staying any longer… I must heal… Even a normal villager would be able to beat me now…'

And then they jumped away, leaving the others

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TBC

Well, liked it? For explanations of the new Jutsus, see the Jutsu List.

I'm sorry I couldn't get to the reunions yet, but in the next chapter there surely will be! Old friends meet each other and characters collide like crazy! What will happen when they all will see each other?! 


	13. A Twist of Belief

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Author's Note: Well, a lot of things about Naruto, Gaara and Neji will be revealed in this chapter... They arrive in Konoha, what will happen?! Well, expect high class Genjutsu in this Chappie! Also, a lot of things will change from this chapter on. Who is good? Who is bad? Can we still tell? And just where is Orochimaru?! I am still not sure about some things in this chapter so it can still be changed, it depends on the reviews I get about it, I guess… Oh well, I hope you enjoy this chapter… 

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Review Reply Corner: 

**Misu** **no** **Yami**: Thanks for the review, Misu no Hikaru! Hehe, well, everyone needs a beating now and then… even Naruto..

**BigAznDaddy**: Hiya! Thanks for liking the chapter! I really like your fic '_Survival of the Forsaken'_, the only complaint is that the chapters are rather short.

**CurlsofSerenity**: All those Uchihas are arrogant, aren't they? Still don't know much about Itachi. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Loon** **Luu**: Thanks, thanks and thanks!! There's not much action in this chapter, but lots of information. Hope you enjoy!

**The**-**TempesT**: Well, prepare yourself for a big surprise then!! Hehe, hope you like what'll happen!

**Sirus183**: Thanks! Here you have the next update!

**Zsych**: Well, you are right about GamaBunta being rather weak. But I don't think the summoner must be stronger or faster than the summon. As I recall, Naruto always calls GamaBunta 'Boss!' I think it's the other way around. The Summon is always stronger than the one who summoned him/her. I think certain summons of one summon (i.e. only toads) are better at certain departments (speed, power, brains)… So a less smaller toad than GamaBunta can be a lot faster than GamaBunta, but weaker. Yeah, about Lee, I think you're quite right. I think he can maintain high speed for a pretty long time. But once his points are pressed or he's horribly injured, than his Chakra will be close to useless. And about twists, well, can you catch?

**Peter** **Kim**: I don't know. I still have to decide on Kinoko's motivations in this fic. I guess I'm going to make him an obedient guy to his master, the Akatsuki Leader. Thanks for the review!

**Perverted**-**senin**: Thanks for the review! Oh, uh, they didn't summon any creatures because that would mean they would all their Chakra at once. Kinoko's Chakra was quickly diminishing the others' Chakra. In three minutes or so, they didn't even have enough Chakra to be able to summon.

**EfrainMan**: Heh, thanks for reviewing! I hope you like this chapter a bit more! Naruto was beaten, but that was because they didn't have any info on this guy.

**Nobuyasha**: Thanks so much! I appreciate it that you like how I've portrayed them.

**Silent** **Melodica**: Hehe, Naruto's group is strong as hell, isn't it? Anyway, yeah the scrolls are more than important to the plot. Thanks for the review!

**Judiann**: Talented?! O_O! Thanks!! Thanks for the review too! Here's the update!

**anon**: Thanks for reviewing! Here's an update!

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**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 13

Shame went through their minds. One was yelling curses ever since they had awoken and continued on their way. Another was extremely cranky. The remaining people were only ashamed. The moment they woke up from their slumber, or in their case, unconsciousness, Naruto immediately yelled the Scrolls had been taken. After that, Itachi started explaining what would really happen once all scrolls were really brought together. 

Itachi said it would take a long time before anything would really happen, since all the techniques in all of the scrolls needed to be learned to be worthy of the Final Techniques. Once all the techniques were learned, the one who had learned them was supposed to receive a massive amount of knowledge, but once that receiving starts, the user goes into a comatose state, for an undetermined time. It seemed only Dareda and Itachi knew of this. Naruto really wondered who had instructed Itachi and Dareda, when they were Genin.

As instructed, they all were now heading for Leaf Village. Where two of the Three Legendary Shinobis would be helpful in the upcoming battle. 

"Damn this!! That freaking guy really nailed us!! I can't believe he was able to take the scrolls from me! He is SO going to pay for this!" Naruto yelled, as Gaara agreed with a nod, jumping next to him. Behind them, Neji and Dareda stayed silent as they followed. Itachi and Kisame were behind them, also silent and Sinobi and Mokito were at the end, having small talk. 

"Well, now we know how they all fight…" Dareda started. "The guy, Kinoko Kutake, uses his spores to drain Chakra and mostly has poisonous and Chakra draining attacks. Naruto had stated that the guy was also exhausted so his Jutsus take a lot of his Chakra. Simply know that you don't want to play around with that guy, the way to beat him is to go for the instant kill… Those two TaiJutsu users seem to have a peculiar Bloodline Limit. Once activated, their Chakra amount, power and speed go sky high. But it didn't form a real threat once faced with Naruto and Gaara's transformations… But that still means only Naruto and Gaara can beat those two… Even though they're mostly TaiJutsu users, it seems they're superior to our Hyuga Style of TaiJutsu…"

"Not entirely true… I probably would have beaten him completely, if it weren't for the spores all around us. They fight mostly with Chakra, so I think they're the perfect opponents for us, Dareda." Neji responded.

Dareda grinned. "Perhaps for you, then… The guy I fought fights with poisonous bullets and uses Shadow Transformations which are rather ineffective once seen through. One touch and the transformation is cancelled. Be careful with the guy, though, since he has a secret I had yet to discover, unfortunately, time was not given and I ran out of Chakra."

Sinobi caught up with Mokito and jumped next to Dareda. "The old woman I fought is mostly a defensive type. I can take her on, she's not that hard. Sometimes she can disappear and let attacks go through her. I didn't ask what her techniques were and kept attacking her. Eventually she got hit… The next time I will simply hit her sooner and harder."

"The others do not matter. A strategy has already been thought of to deal with them. Sukumi Tachi and Doro Odei are of no importance. Aburame Turin has already been dealt with." Itachi finished.

"We're almost there…" Naruto whispered, but everyone heard it real good anyway…

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Sasuke walked out of his new apartment and was heading to gather some breakfast. He wasn't really surprised to see about five ANBU on his roof when he woke up. They simply greeted each other. Suddenly, one of the ANBUs jumped down and landed in front of Sasuke. 

"Uchiha Sasuke… I have been ordered to accompany you everywhere you go."

Sasuke frowned. "That won't be necessarily. I won't do anything stupid. Now leave."

"I'm afraid it's a direct order from the Hokage. It would be unwise for me to disobey. I will remain where you will go."

Sasuke snorted. "Fine. I suppose this means you're living with me too?" Sasuke groaned inwardly as the ANBU Leader nodded. "Feh, you take care of your own meals. So, who are you anyway?"

The ANBU took off his mask and revealed his real face. "Aburame Shino."

Sasuke's eyes showed real surprise. "Shino… So, you've grown strong, then?"

Shino simply nodded as they started walking. 

Sasuke smiled. 'Still the talkative type, ey? He's an ANBU Leader… dedicated to assassination missions and hunting missions. Shino must have improved a lot. I wonder how much he has learned.'

"Shino… During your missions, did you come across other strong Shinobis?"

Shino looked at Sasuke from the corned of his eyes and put his mask back on. "Yes. I am the leader of the elite ANBU Team, the direct guards of Konoha and the Hokage. My team receives the missions which have the highest chance of getting killed. Recently, my entire team got killed easily, except for me, by three Shinobis."

'He was the leader and also the only survivor… That's rather foolish… But he was the leader of Konoha's best ANBU Team and they got beaten easily?' Sasuke was getting intrigued and smiled. "So, who were these Shinobis that defeated you and your team?"

Shino and Sasuke both trudged forward in a slow pace. "Old acquaintances…"

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Itachi and the others were just out of sight from the guards of the Konoha Gates. Itachi was performing a very high Genjutsu which would envelop the entire Village. He had told the others to wait a bit after the Genjutsu was performed, because it would take a lot of Chakra and Itachi needed the time to catch his breath again. 

"Jutai Munesanzun." Itachi said and immediately dropped to his knees. "Give me one minute." He panted slightly. "And I'll be ready to fight again."

"What does this Jutsu do?" Naruto asked. 

Dareda looked at Naruto. "It affects the minds of the Shinobis… However, it would be lethal for Itachi if he had targeted the entire Village, so he had opted to go for the Shinobis with a Chakra amount of the average rookie Jounin. They forget what happened five minutes ago, but the memory is still in their heads. So they re-live those five minutes but don't know they've already done that and see it as a déjà vu and shrug it off.. They re-live those five minutes during a sleep. This is a very high levelled Genjutsu. It puts too much stress on the user. Luckily, Itachi can take a lot. We have to hurry up, only four minutes or so are left. Let's head for the Hokage…"

Dareda and Itachi stayed behind a little bit longer as the others leaped for the Hokage Tower. "Itachi, you know what you have to do, right?"

Itachi gazed at Dareda. "Of course. Otherwise… they would not be forgiven…"

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Jiraiya frowned as he saw Gai and Kakashi team up to fight him. He grinned as he knew what they were going to do. But it was still strange that he knew, because he kind of… recognized the movements the two of them were making. 'This is… I already know what they're going to do and exactly what happens afterwards as well. This is not just a coincidence…'

Jiraiya easily sidestepped the dozen small duo attacks Gai and Kakashi were throwing at him. Even though the two of them together could easily beat him, already Jiraiya knew what they were going to do. He smiled and tested his assumptions… 

Jiraiya simply out a fist upwards, which was really weird, as Kakashi was standing in front of him. The fist however, connected with Gai's jaw, who was in the middle of his own attack. 'I knew this… This is strange… Could I have dreamed this before or something?'

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Tsunade was reading a few Scrolls in her office, with a frown on her face. 'I've read this before… but when?' Tsunade shrugged and continued reading, flipping the pages. 

Konoha's absolute Defence would be consistent of Jiraiya, herself, Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, Hiashi, Anko, Shino, Genma, Aoba, Shizune and Ibiki. Quite a large group, but of course they wouldn't be together. They were all ordered to live in apartments located on different sides of the Village. All of them had been trained harshly and effectively and it would be hard to get past the defences of the Leaf. Tsunade's plan wasn't a masterplan, but in this kind of scenario, this felt necessarily. 

She sighed as she flipped another page, a flash of recognition again shot through her eyes. All was forgotten however, as she felt a huge Chakra just outside. And in moments, eight people stood before her. Recognition again hit her fully in the face. Tsunade's eyes widened. She knew who these people were…

"Tsunade… We have come to help you in the war against Akatsuki."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, setting her emotions to the side. "How did you get in?! If you kill me, it won't go silently!" Tsunade yelled, knowing she was definitely outmatched by these people. 

Itachi shook his head. "We did not come to kill you… We came to aid…"

Tsunade snorted. 'They are with too many… If I move violently against them, they will definitely kill me. But these people… Naruto… What happened to you?'  Tsunade narrowed her eyes to slits. "Listen. The best you can do is leave this place. There's no way you will be able to get out alive…"

"Don't be mistaken… We have more than enough geniuses, two Shinobi who can almost fully control their demons, a TaiJutsu Specialist, THE specialist in silent killing and he's from the Mist and berserker Shinobi. We will destroy this Village if we all go fully out…" Dareda countered. 

Tsunade snorted. "Don't be so sure. Our Village has become real strong since our Scroll got stolen."

"I would hope so…" Mokito rudely interjected. "We stole that Scroll way too easily."

Tsunade looked surprised. "You guys did?" Tsunade analyzed the situation. 'Wait, they are not with Akatsuki, but they stole the Scroll?' Tsunade faced them. "Why did you take the Scrolls?"

Itachi stepped slightly forward. "I made a technique that could make both Naruto and Gaara meet their demons inside of them. But I hadn't mastered it yet. I needed the Hidden Scroll of the Leaf to fully master it. Now I can and it will be… out Trump Card…"

Tsunade carefully gazed at Naruto. "Naruto?"

Naruto coldly stared at her but didn't say anything back. Itachi observed him. "Naruto, Neji, Gaara… I have something to tell you… I need to, so Tsunade will believe our sincerity…"

Itachi stood before the three, making himself an easy kill for Tsunade, as he had his back turned towards her. "The Kuragari Okkanai is high Genjutsu, which can make personalities change easily by implanting lies in the mind. Some are permanent, some or not. When I had abducted you, I performed the Kuragari Okkanai on all three of you… To make it a permanent effect, it almost took me my life… I stayed unconscious for three full days and on the fourth I couldn't even activate my Sharingan. I had told I was going to look for the woman that taught you guys how to summon, but in fact, I was in bed, resting. The woman already knew we would be there. To go on, I had succeeded in the permanent Kuragari Okkanai on you."

Naruto, Neji and Gaara looked at each other, not entirely understanding or believing what he had just said. 

Itachi nodded and continued. "Tsunade… I performed it this way, so they would become stronger in a much faster way… Now, with the rage they have inside, their potential stops here… Now there's a need for peace in their mind to continue on getting stronger. I believe they will get that here…"

Tsunade gulped loudly. 'He performed the Kuragari Okkanai? I thought only Orochimaru knew how to do that. But this guy made it have a permanent effect? I remember Orochimaru fainting the first time he used, when we were in the Jounin Exams… But this explains why Naruto, Neji and even Gaara have changed this much… But can we really forgive them?'

Itachi looked at Tsunade. "Hokage-sama… I will change them back…"

"Who says we want that? I like me the way I am right now!" Naruto screamed. "Don't even dare to try anything, Itachi!"

Gaara nodded. "I have no interest in changing myself either."

Neji remained silent. 

Itachi looked at the three of them. "No, you need to know the truth… Please, do not resist. It will cause a… disastrous battle… if you do…"

"Itachi, the five minutes are already up, now they will be able to sense our Chakra if we emanate it too much." Dareda suddenly interjected, before facing Neji. "Neji… I'm sure you understand."

Neji nodded. "More ways are needed to become stronger…"

Naruto and Gaara stared at him for a moment. "Will we still know everything we know now?" Naruto asked.

"Of course. Every Jutsu, every transformation and every battle you ever fought. After the cancel of the Kuragari Okkanai, you will feel an incredible surge of regret inside, though… You've been killing a lot of people for the last five years."

Naruto and Gaara nodded to each other. "Regret makes up for a fine motivation…"

Itachi nodded as Tsunade was simply listening and observing, not saying a single word. Itachi stepped forward and, after performing several seals, tapped Naruto, Neji and Gaara all once. He performed seals again… "Kuragari Okkanai…." Then he performed the final seals. "Kai!" 

"This Cancel Jutsu almost takes no Chakra…" Itachi explained as he didn't drop to his knees, but Naruto, Neji and Gaara all fainted immediately. "Attack them in this state and we WILL extract revenge upon this entire Village…" Itachi suddenly said. "But… we are here ONLY, to aid you in the war that is coming…"

Tsunade swallowed. 'This is all… too much…' Tsunade nodded slowly. "Hmm, After the war is over, you will be hunted again. For now, I accept your help. Use an advanced Henge to cover yourself, Itachi. Don't emanate any Chakra either. Your little brother is here too… And… tell Naruto, Neji and Gaara… to contact me once they wake up…" Tsunade paused. "Take Naruto's old apartment to live in. It's close by, the only apartment that isn't renewed. And, just to repeat. Do NOT reveal yourselves in the Village… It will cause fights… And I don't want fights, NOT in my Village."

Itachi nodded as Dareda put Neji on his shoulder, Kisame grabbed Gaara and Mokito grabbed Naruto. 

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When Jiraiya calmly walked, while whistling, through the door to Tsunade's office, he fully expected Tsunade to be sleeping on her desk by now. It was surprising that Tsunade was awake and very deep in thought. Not surprising was that there were still many papers on her desk. Jiraiya coughed loudly to gain the Hokage's attention. 

"Tsunade, even a low levelled Shinobi could have killed you in that state…" Jiraiya whined. "You are the Hokage, the strongest Shinobi of the Leaf. Supposedly…" 

Tsunade's left eye twitched. "Shut up, Jiraiya… We have a problem.."

Jiraiya nodded. "I know… there have to be at least two high ranked Shinobis in this Village, because I noticed a major Genjutsu, one that can not even be performed by normal Jounins. It was Jutai Munesanzun, which makes you re-live the last five minutes. The victim will see it as a déjà vu.."

Tsunade nodded. "I see… I kind of fell for it, actually." Jiraiya sweatdropped. Tsunade turned serious, however, which made Jiraiya turned serious as well. "Jiraiya… Itachi was here…"

Jiraiya frowned. "He's the one who did it?"

"Probably. But it seems he's on our side now. Until he makes any wrong movements in the Village, do not attack him." Tsunade said. "He's got a whole group with him, by the way. Among them were Hyuga Dareda and Hoshigaki Kisame. Shinobis who are not to be taken lightly. The biggest surprise however… Naruto is back…"

Jiraiya's eyes widened. "What?! Where is he?!"

Tsunade shook her head. "It seems Itachi put a permanent Kuragari Okkanai on the kid… Also on Neji and Gaara. He cancelled the Jutsu today however. All those kills, they really weren't their real doings…"

Jiraiya sighed. "I guessed as much. No person can change so much. But a permanent Kuragari Okkanai, ey? That move is a Jutsu Orochimaru had created. You have to be real good, to be able to make it have a permanent effect. Someone like the Fourth could probably pull it off easily…"

"Itachi told me that after he had performed it, he was unconscious for three full days." Tsunade explained, earning a nod from Jiraiya.

"So, Neji and Gaara are also back?" Jiraiya asked, while Tsunade nodded. "I see… so everyone's back again… The Akatsuki will have it hard if they will join our forces…"

"I don't know… Can we really trust them? For all we know they are part of the Akatsuki. We should keep an eye on them… all of them… They're living in Naruto's old apartment." Tsunade said. "I don't want any ruckus either."

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"So you're saying Naruto, Neji and Gaara killed all of you team mates without even trying?!" Sasuke said a little loudly. "That's interesting…"

Shino looked at Sasuke through his mask. "They did try, but only to finish off. In the beginning, they played with us. I was stupid not to use the Aburame's secret technique… But it would be useless, since it would only take one opponent's live and I would be too tired to continue and fight the other two."

Sasuke nodded. "Intriguing… Shino, how about we fight each other?"

Shino shook his head. "No, the Hokage told me not to start a fight with you."

Sasuke shook his head. "I mean training. So we both can get stronger. I want to see what powers you possess. Show me…"

Shino thought it over a bit. "I will have to discuss this with the Hokage."

Sasuke nodded. "We'll both go there now."

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Naruto awoke with sweat on his entire body. He looked around him and was slightly panting. 'Where am I?!' Looking beside him on the ground, he saw Neji and Gaara still sleeping. 'I…'

The dream Naruto had. It was too much. He knew everything, he now knew what was a lie and what was not. He wasn't really angry at Itachi… 'If it wasn't for him, I'd still be weak now… What I would achieve in more than twenty years, he made happen in five… and the same goes for them.' Naruto thought as he stared at Gaara and Neji… 'I can't believe I really wanted to destroy the Leaf…' Suddenly, Naruto's look softened a great deal. 'I… I killed Inari… and I killed many more innocents… Can I be forgiven?'

In the silence of the night, Naruto wept inward tears and he sobbed from the inside, not letting anyone see or hear he was grieving…

Gaara woke up and stared around him. 'I am in the Leaf, I remember. It seems that cancel Jutsu put me to sleep too.' Gaara smiled a strange smile, sort of like a smile of relief. 'Somehow, it does not bother me that I have no need to destroy the Sand Village anymore… Now I know the truth and I can deal with it as well. My siblings are reason enough for me to let the Sand Village stay in one piece.'

Neji woke a little later and stared at the ceiling. 'So, this was all Itachi's plan… To make us grow stronger, he needed us to have a different line of thoughts. We would grow stronger a lot faster that way. Yet, in that way, there was a limit, so Itachi had to use a Cancel Jutsu so we could grow stronger again. When we will train, we will be a force unlike any ever witnessed before… And that was probably Itachi's original plan… for us to own the world… or to test himself against our full potential… Either way, now we will be ready for the entire Akatsuki… I hope the Hokage can understand what happened… Even though Itachi originally was at fault. But perhaps they won't find out Itachi's real intentions…'

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Time passed in the Leaf Village. Naruto, Neji and Gaara fully recovered and trained outside of the Village, as to not to gain attention. Itachi, Dareda, Kisame, Sinobi and Mokito joined them and trained as well. Inside the Village, Sasuke was training with Shino. 

"Katon, Karyu Endan!!" Sasuke noted that Shino was way better than the other Aburame Sasuke had fought… Aburame Turin. Shino easily pivoted away from the attack and continued by sending a huge plague of bugs towards Sasuke. 

'That's a very bothersome attack… the bugs close in on me while they surround me completely. How can I defend against that?' Sasuke thought. During his decision to stay in leaf Village for the rest of his life, he had also decided not to use the Curse Seal Orochimaru had given him. He was going to get stronger without it. Sasuke chose for the easiest solution to get out of Shino's attack, which was go underground. 

Shino jumped away from the hand that appeared below him, from under the ground and continued with a second attack. "Dokukan!!"

Sasuke expected an attack, but nothing happened. It was hard to use the Sharingan, since every time he did, he felt little occasional stings from Orochimaru's Curse Seal. Now he activated the Sharingan, fighting a flinch, as the Curse Seal stung. He noticed a change in Shino's body and saw that it was entirely poisoned. 'So he can activate the poison on his entire body and deactivate it too… He's a lot farther advanced than the woman I fought. But I can still beat him…' Sasuke's eyes suddenly widened. He was about to activate the Curse Seal… 'No, I need to do it without. I will grow stronger this way.'

Sasuke was forced to dodge the punches and kicks Shino threw at him. Sasuke quickly somersaulted away from Shino and spoke up. "The poison… is it deadly?"

Shino, behind the mask, stared at Sasuke. "I can make it so, but this is just training, so it will simply make your muscles swell up. Thus, the end of our fight shall be concluded if I hit you too many times…"

Sasuke grinned. "Alright." Sasuke performed a few seals. 'Without the use of the Curse Seal, I can fight longer fights…' "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!"

Shino was assaulted by many Shadow Clones, also making sure Shino would not be able to see the real Sasuke, who was currently performing hand seals again. "Sanjuu Raikiri!!"

Three small balls of lightning were shot from Sasuke's palms towards Shino. When the first ball hit Shino in the gut, Sasuke analyzed and watched the second hit him in the chest and the third went straight through him, Sasuke shook his head. He already knew what Shino did and watched as the body dissolved in hundreds of bugs. 'Damn him…' 

Suddenly, they felt two people approaching. Shino appeared to Sasuke's right. "A break?"

Sasuke nodded as began to stare at the direction of the two who were heading there way. 'I hope it's not Sakura or Ino…'

Sasuke smiled as he saw Rock Lee and Shikamaru jump down in front of him and Shino. Rock Lee stared at Sasuke unbelieving for a few seconds. "Uchiha Sasuke… I've heard rumours about you being back…" He stopped talking as he just continued on observing Sasuke.

"Heh, finally decided to come back, huh? The situation is really troublesome these days… We could use all help. Those Akatsuki are really annoying…" Shikamaru said in a whiny voice. 

Sasuke smiled. 'Somehow… this feeling I feel… it's as if I'm home… But I felt home right there with Orochimaru and Kimimaro… But somehow, this feels better…' Sasuke sighed. "It… It's good to be back…"

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Naruto, Neji and Gaara were slowly walking through the streets, observing everything around them. 

"Somehow, it's really nice here… " Naruto stated, remembering everything as he looked all around. "I can't believe my ambition was to destroy this village… I was too easily manipulated…"

"I don't think it could be helped. No matter how powerful the mind is, all fall victim to that attack…" Neji stated as facts. "No matter now, we will make up. And… my allegiance lies… it lies with Konoha…"

Naruto stared at Neji. "Really? I don't know… The Village has loathed me as long as I exist…"

Gaara looked at Naruto and knew how he felt. Neji smiled. "Perhaps, but there are still people who respect you and know you're different. By the way… does everyone know… your little secret, Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head. "I guess only the older people… I think the Chuunins don't know… and most who have been promoted to Jounin in the last five years don't know either… Perhaps one day, no one will know it…"

Neji looked at Naruto sideways. "Perhaps. But I feel you have to tell people close to you."

Naruto frowned. "All the people who are close to me already know. There's no need to tell anyone else…"

Suddenly, the three of them tensed up, sensing that they were being watched. The three of them simply disappeared and re-appeared behind the man who was watching them. 

"Nice to see you again… Jiraiya…" Naruto said, with a full grin on her face. 

Jiraiya chuckled embarrassedly. "Heh, yeah… Likewise… You three buffed up a great deal… So how are you?" He asked the trio.

"I'm fine." Naruto said, while Neji nodded once and Gaara simply stared. 

Jiraiya smiled, not knowing what to say. "Yeah, me too… I just came to check on you guys. Ever since Tsunade told me you guys were back I… I couldn't really believe it… Listen, how did you feel once the Kuragari Okkanai was no longer on you?"

Naruto's look softened and he really liked seeing the old pervert again. "Well, I felt regret and sadness… I had killed innocents and so on… But it was the way to grow strong fast and also on your own. I guess I can blame Itachi… but if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be as strong as I was now and then the Akatsuki had a much better chance of getting what they wanted. I guess I'll just… try and forget about it…"

Jiraiya turned towards the other two. Gaara said "I felt the same way as Naruto felt." Neji simply said. "The same…"

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head. "Heh, ok… Well, Tsunade has also trained with me. Our defence is the best in decades. The elite Jounins could very well take on us Legendary SenNins on their own. But then again, we've grown a lot stronger as well…" Jiraiya said, with Legendary SenNins meaning himself and Tsunade. 

Naruto nodded. "That's good…"

Jiraiya stared at Naruto… 'He looks so much like the Fourth… Only his eyes are a lot harsher.. he's been through so much…' Jiraiya stared at the others. 'gaara hasn't changed much… still same tattoo and his eyes are just a bit less unpleasant. Neji looks so much like Hiashi it's scary… I bet the kid can probably beat Hiashi easily… But their clothes are much better than what they wore before. Simply cloaks… Naruto's dark red, beautiful, probably got Kyuubi's taste or something… Neji has a dark blue cloak and Gaara simply has a black cloak.'

"Jiraiya, we're going on our way again. Maybe we'll train some time, ok? I'd like to kick your ass!" Naruto yelled as the three jumped from the roof back on the ground and went on their way again. 

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TBC

I hope you enjoyed the Chapter! Please RR! If you didn't understand something, please tell me! I'll try to elaborate.


	14. Reminiscing

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: It's not like anyone actually cares enough to actually read more than the first two words, but, anyhow, I don't own Naruto.

Author's Note: Well, this chapter will have an amount of Reunions... I'm really not good at writing about 'It's been a while-how have you been' stories, but here goes nothing.

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Review Reply Corner:

**Pyr00tje**: Heh, it's entertaining to surprise people and it's boring to be predictable, ey? Even though I am awfully predictable… Oh well, thanks for the review!

**Hattuteline**: Yep, yep! I'm going to change the Spore guy's name to the name you suggested. I didn't know Kinoko was a female name, lol… Well, as I told, I'm really bad at writing about reunions or regatherings, as you put it. Thanks for reviewing!

**CurlsofSerenity**: Perhaps you're right about the whole Itachi thing… But this whole Akatsuki thing goes beyond that and a Hokage will put smaller things aside to deal with the bigger things, at least, that's what I think… Many thanks!

**Per**: Yeah, maybe they SHOULD feel more regret… but keep in mind that Naruto, Neji and Gaara still have the same memory as before, combined with their old 'real memory.' They have matured in a very harsh way, but they know how to deal with it. I did make Naruto cry…Maybe I'll insert some more sadness later… Thnx for the review!

**Yodey**: Thanks, Thanks!! Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy!

**SilverKnight7**: Thanks for reviewing! Here's an update! Expect to be… well, expect anything…

**The** **Fox** **of** **burden**: Soon, soon you will see how strong everyone has become, but until then, hang on tight… please? Thanks for the review!

**Misu** **no** **Yami**: Ok, Rei . Thanks for the review, Rei! Rei, as in Ayanami Rei?

**Dark** **Nemesis** **7**: Thnx for reviewing! The five minute Genjutsu 'Jutai Munesanzun' attacked all Shinobis who had a Chakra level of Jounin or higher. The attack can also be directed at Jounin rank and lower or even all…  Ok, this Jutsu is also a mind Jutsu and makes the victims forget about the last five minutes they just lived through and fall to sleep. They dream about those five minutes and re-live it, seeing it as a déjà vu. Once seen through, which happens almost never, unless the victim is really good, the victim wakes up immediately and realizes the Genjutsu.

**Sirus183**: A Shinobi shall not be controlled by his or her won emotions, right? I really believe that Shino is a Shinobi who lives by the rules and being kind of… emotionless… He really seems like that kind of guy to me… Thanks for the review!

**Peter** **Kim**: Heh, the answers for the questions you ask would be spoilers… That won't be any fun, right? :P Anyway, I'm still doubting about letting all those others know of Naruto's secret. But I still have time to think it over… Thanks!

**Anon**: Thanks! Here's a next chapter!

**EfrainMan**: You think it was too easy? Man, I kind of hoped it would look really difficult… It really was for Itachi to be able to perform the technique… Oh well, my apologies bows. But thanks for the review!

**Nobuyasha**: Yep, yep, yep. You're right all the way, all your assumptions are correct! Hope you keep liking it! Thanks!

**Zsych**: Heh, yeah, will do :P. About new Jutsus… As a Hokage, Naruto will have to have some real handy Jutsus like the ones you proposed… Maybe he can bring back Inari back to life… Or even the entire Uchiha Clan :P. Wouldn't Sasuke be happy, lol… Err… anyway, I know, I'm not funny, sorry… So I won't try to be so any longer… Naruto was never REALLY accepted by the Village, was he? I'm beginning to doubt that he ever will, even if he becomes Hokage, you can't control one's opinion… But yeah!! Naruto is immortal, based on age, I believe… He can't die of age… but I believe he can be killed… If he grows as strong as possible, maybe he will exist forever… But do you think that the Fourth's Seal will work on Naruto? Sealing him and Kyuubi into another body, making that kid even more stronger??

**:D**: Yeah, they lost two scrolls, those idiots! Oh well, you win some, you lose some… Thanks for the review!!

**Fancyj**: Heh, thanks… I think… I admit that the fic is long, but I like it that way… My apologies… I'm glad it still interests you beside that, thanks for the review!

**Lady** **Light**: Whoa, Thanks! That really means a lot to me! I'm glad you like it! Here's the next chapter!

**…**: Interesting name :P  Anywhoo… Here's the next Chappie! Thanks for reviewing!

**CurlsofSerenity**: Thanks! I appreciate it! And I have absolutely no idea what OTW means…

**Misu** **no** **Yami**: Alrighty then! Thanks, Rei!  I'm glad you liked the chapter.

**Dude**: Thanks for the support… These finals really give me no time to have fun… But oh well… Thanks for reviewing!

**Sirus183**: Hehe, well in this chapter there's a little more reminiscing… Next Chapter will mostly be about the training of all of them… So perhaps you'll see Naruto and Jiraiya spar again… Perhaps…

**RuByMoOn17**: I agree! Naruto is the Man! Thanks for reviewing!

**Zsych**: Heh, I guess no one can actually defend against the Fourth's Jutsu, you'll just be permanently sealed away. I wonder though… The user dies making that seal, right? And also, does the one who receives the seal die as well (gr?)?  Yes, every technique requires certain aspects like high speed or Chakra control… But that Rasengan, I thought the Rasengan couldn't be copied by the Sharingan? And about being able to copy some Bloodline techniques… You could be right… Especially about Haku's techniques… I mean, if Bloodline Techniques still need a few hand seals for elementary use, then perhaps it's possible they can be copied… About the descendant of the Byakugan… I kinda created one of the new Characters of the Akatsuki on purpose for that… Jiraiya's techniques are inescapable, I think. How can one escape from a gigantic swamp-like hole? Well… Heh, you'll see in this Chappie… But one can much easier dodge fire or any other element-attacks.

**Lemmings12**: Wait no longer! Here's an update for ya!

**Lostlily**: Yes, you are very right. I remembered that as well when I thought about it a little more during one of my 'can't sleep but try anyway' nights. Thanks for the review! Are you going to update your story soon, btw? ;)

**Jonathan** **Shim**: Hehe, well that makes two of us. But it's wrong to bash characters… Everyone is who he/she is because of how he/she was raised, right? Sasuke can't help it that he's a cold moron… He has his reasons…

**Exarikun**: Thanks so much!! Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!

**Aaron**: Thanks, I'm glad you like it!

**SilverKnight7**: Thanks for liking it!! Here's an update!

**:D****: **Teehee, yep. I tried a little humor, but I'm not really good with that… Thnx for the review!****

**Nobuyasha**: Hehehe, well, perhaps I'll do that sometime… But I already made Neji and Sasuke fight each other once in Book one. I'm sure Sasuke wants to get back at him for that… Hehehe… And my Naruto is better than Kishimoto's? Sorry, but that I can't believe. Kishimoto is a freaking genius, man! 10q for the review!

**Hotaru**-**chan**: Thank you, Thank you!! Here's an update!

**Dark** **Nemesis** 7: Thanks! Here's a slightly bigger than usual update!

**Itachi**: I'm glad you think my stories Rock! I'm really glad! Here's the next lil Chappie!

**Magicalfoci**: The feeling you have about what's going to happen between Sasuke and Naruto must be the same as what you feel about what will happen in the manga, right? At least, that's what I think… I'm glad you like the explanation of the effects of the permanent Kuragari Okkanai. I'm so happy you like how I write the characters and the battle scenes! About writing faster… the next update will take much longer…

**DocDragon**: Well, I hope this will be like the 'interlude' chapter, actually. I'm thinking about fusing chapter 14 with this one, so it'd be like those double episodes of the anime… Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**The**-**TempesT**: Hmmm, Naruto is cool isn't he? I hope you like what I did in this chapter! Please enjoy!

**Ino** **Pig**: I also like it when Naruto is strong! And Sasuke always seemed evil, right? This chapter is longer than the other chapters, so I hope you're satisfied!

**Peter** **Kim**: I'll consider your ideas… But of course, on one is immortal… Everyone can die, or at least be sealed. I mean, Juggernaut of the X-men is supposedly unstoppable, but a little bit of teamwork in getting that helmet off and he's down in a sec…

**EfrainMan**: Yep, Yep! More reunions, don't worry! Naruto won't summon anything just yet… And Itachi and Sasuke will encounter each other sooner or later… Itachi's disguise will easily be looked through when Sasuke has his Sharingan activated.

**Zitrix**: Thanks so much! That means a lot to me! And about those mistakes, you are completely right! Stupid of me that I made it look like the Rasengans needed hand seals, stupid! And the Chuunin thing was also pretty dumb of me… Yes, once Kyuubi Chakra is used, the Sharingan will see nothing but red Chakra and the view upon the hand seals and the Chakra that's used for the techniques will be blocked. Thnx for reviewing!

**Shishi** **haze**: I guess it is pretty long, huh? Well, there will be a Book 3 and 4… Thanks for the review and I think you'll like this chapter…

**Stoictimer**: Very well! Here's the update! Thnx for the review!

**Hide-a: **Thanks, thanks and thanks! Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!

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**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 14

The Leaf was a place of harmony. It has always been that way, no matter what it and its inhabitants went through. All were supposed to watch each others' backs, defend each other, stick up for each other and comfort each other. Unfortunately the 'each other' part excluded children with demons inside themselves, the same children who couldn't help it that they had one inside themselves. But even for those children there was still hope in this Village unlike in the Sand Village.

Jounins, Chuunins, Genins and all alike were being trained on all training grounds. They were being informed about the situation and were being prepared for a war. A perfect motivation for all to train as hard as they could. So they would make a difference in a battle of giants. They would bring in their cents for the defence of Konoha.

Uchiha Sasuke was training with the new Jounins and the ANBU Leader Aburame Shino. Rock Lee, Ten-Ten and Shikamaru were all three very talented. Sasuke had found out during the training that he had a long way to go for him to not need the Curse Seal anymore. He also found out Aburame Shino was able to actually beat him if he didn't use the Curse Seal. Shikamaru was a hard opponent even when he activated his Curse Seal to Level 2. Ten-Ten was talented, but not enough for Sasuke. And Rock Lee… Rock Lee had become so strong… His speed was unimaginable and Sasuke could imagine how much Chakra that speed took from Lee. Sasuke's speed was nothing compared to Lee's, but once he activated his Curse Seal he could at least 'see' Lee.

Sasuke had felt himself become acquainted with them, often eating together in all sorts of bars. He even found himself drinking sake with them one night. He often got called to the Hokage's office for information of any sort. That was the only annoying thing. One day, though… He had felt an incredible surge of Chakra just outside the Village. He had learned that many Jounins were training for the coming war… but who the hell had that much Chakra? He wanted to find out.

And now he was walking home from another day of hard training. Rock Lee had beaten him, but Sasuke had not used his Curse Seal. The outcome of the battle was very close… Rock Lee had barely won. Sasuke grinned to himself and realised he was growing by the days again. He would kill Orochimaru without the use of the Curse Seal. And the same goes for Itachi…

"Sasuke."

Sasuke looked up to see Kakashi standing on a tree branch beside a house. "Kakashi. It's been a while." He said, smiling as he put his hands in his pockets and gazed at Kakashi, noticing that Kakashi hadn't changed one bit, only that he was a bit older now.

Kakashi hopped down and looked Sasuke over once. "Indeed. So… how have you been?" Kakashi didn't have a chance to talk to Sasuke ever since Sasuke had been standing at the Gates on the day he returned.

Sasuke sighed. "Beside being betrayed by Orochimaru and being beaten by Itachi, I feel fine. What about you, Kakashi? Grown stronger in the years?"

Kakashi looked at Sasuke with a intrigued look. "Yes, we've been training for the war. You should come by some time, we should train together. You can probably beat me now." Kakashi stated with a grin, visible through his mask.

Sasuke smiled. "Probably."

"We should talk later, right now I am needed at the Hokage's Tower." Kakashi said as he nodded towards Sasuke, indicating that he was going to leave,

Kakashi wanted to jump away again, but Sasuke stopped him. "Kakashi. I want to become stronger. There is no one in this village who can really teach me anything new. I need to kill Itachi and Orochimaru. I want to be trained by someone who can really beat me to a pulp."

Kakashi smiled. "There are not many people who can… but I think I know someone who can provide you to that 'beating to a pulp' bit."

Sasuke seriously gazed Kakashi. "Tell me…"

Kakashi turned serious as he looked at Sasuke. "Sasuke… Naruto's back… But... he's different. He's become powerful. Be careful if you encounter him."

Sasuke's eyes widened. 'Naruto… So you're here too? Could it be it was you who I sensed… who had that much Chakra?'

Sasuke grinned. "I will look for him tomorrow…"

Kakashi stared at the grin on Sasuke's face. 'Team 7 Reunion… Maybe I will get Sakura as well and see how the three will respond to each other. But Sasuke… You won't like it when you see Naruto.'

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Naruto was walking by himself through the streets of Konoha, while carrying a grin from ear to ear on his face. Those who knew the boy, knew that Naruto was definitely heading for a Ramen Bar. 'I'm going to order at least ten bowls of Chicken Ramen… and then… maybe five more… after that, I'm going to look for Jiraiya and see how he fights… And then I will visit Tsunade… I really want to apologize…'

Naruto looked ahead and saw a familiar girl walking a few feet away from him. The grin on his face widened vertically as he yelled. "Hinata!!" Naruto ran at her, waving his arms as a greeting.

Hinata stared at the strange blonde boy with a frown on her face. 'Who's that?' Suddenly, she recognised the characteristics on the boy's face. She recognised him… 'Tha-that… That's… Naruto-kun…'

Naruto stopped in front of her and observed Hinata's face, surprised to find it slightly red. "Hinata… How have you been? You look… really good." Naruto commented. "So, you're a Chuunin now?" He said as he watched the Chuunin uniform Hinata was wearing.

Hinata nervously swallowed a lump down her throat as she carefully gazed at Naruto. "Na-Naruto-kun. I… I haven't seen you in…"

"Five years!" Naruto said. "It's been so long. I'm on my way to the Ramen Bar, wanna join me?"

Hinata's eyes widened. "A! Uhm, I-I… I can't! I'm going to train with my team… But, next time, I can, if you want to, I want to, Perhaps."

Naruto frowned and was obviously confused. "Uhh.. I don't… understand… Can you say it again?"

Hinata nervously swallowed again. "Well… Perhaps… next time… If you want to, I can join you." Hinata finished with a relieved sigh.

Naruto grinned. "Of course! Just say if you want to and I'll come running! But only if it's Ramen of course." Naruto said, while chuckling in a strange way, while Hinata just stared at the ground. "So, who are you training with?"

Hinata cautiously gazed at Naruto's chin as she answered. "Uhmm, Inuzuka Kiba… Yamanaka Ino, Akamichi Chouji and Haruno Sakura."

Naruto smiled. "I see… It's been a while since I've seen Sakura-chan too… So how is everyone? And who is your leader?

Hinata rose her gaze from Naruto's chin to slightly above the chin. "Well, they're doing fine… Kiba-kun has probably already started training now with Akamaru… Ino and Sakura are best friends again and train together… most of the time… Chouji is usually training with Shikamaru, who is Jounin now… and me… I am the leader of the team."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You're the leader?! That's great! So you're really strong then… That's really great, Hinata! Well, have fun training, I'm going to eat! Bye!"

Hinata looked at Naruto's retreating form and sighed. 'He… he has not changed at all… But… Hokage-sama told us he had killed so many… now he's suddenly back! I… I still feel the same…'

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Sasuke jumped from roof to roof as he thought of places where Naruto could be. 'His old apartment would be most likely, best to check their first.'

As Sasuke neared the apartment he saw two people lazily stand in front of it, one person sitting on the roof and another hanging out of the window, talking to the two in front the apartment. Sasuke landed next to the one on the roof and his eyes widened immediately. 'Ga-Gaara!'

Gaara simply said. "Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke stared from Gaara to the two people on the ground and noted he did not know them, although one of them seemed slightly familiar... Suddenly, the one who was hanging out of the window jumped on the roof next to Sasuke and Gaara. Sasuke's eyes widened again. 'Hyuga Neji…'

Neji and Gaara both grinned as they watched the stunned Sasuke. "Sasuke Uchiha. What brings you here?"

Sasuke stared at Neji, while Gaara simply stared at nothing as he sat on the roof. "I…" Sasuke did not know what to say. 'These people… What is Gaara doing in the Leaf?'

Neji rolled his eyes and turned to Gaara. "Gaara… Sinobi and Dareda have just left, we should join them soon."

Gaara stared at Neji and turned away again. "I'm staying here. I have no need for training today."

Neji sighed. "Very well." He turned to Sasuke and nodded, before turning back to Gaara again. "I'm leaving, then. See you tonight. Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Gaara replied.

Sasuke was still standing there as he watched Neji hop from tree to tree, away from them.

"Uchiha Sasuke. If you don't have anything to do here… why are you still here?" Gaara suddenly spoke up. "I have no need to practice with you, I do not feel like fighting today. Please leave."

Sasuke sighed. "Gaara… Why are you here? Here in Leaf Village?"

Gaara stared at Sasuke from the corners of his eyes. "I am not obligated to answer that. Nor do I feel like it. What do you want?"

Sasuke slightly grinned. "One day, I would like to fight you again, Gaara…" When Gaara didn't respond, Sasuke continued. "Naruto… Where is Naruto?"

Gaara turned to Sasuke and seemed to hesitate to answer Sasuke's question. "…He's in town somewhere. Probably eating Ramen…" Gaara turned away from Sasuke again.

Sasuke smirked. 'I guess these guys have been together for quite some time. It seems he knows Naruto quite well…'

"If you are going to challenge him for a fight, expect to die. He is stronger than me…" Gaara warned. "It would not do you well to die before you have reached your goals."

Sasuke snorted before he left and jumped to another roof.

Gaara stared at his retreating form. 'I want to sleep…'

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Naruto had been eating Ramen when Jiraiya suddenly walked in the Ramen Bar. They ate together and then they left to train together. Naruto was standing in front of Jiraiya, who was currently preparing himself for an attack.

Naruto performed a few hand seals and outstretched his palms towards Jiraiya. "Nijuu Rasengan…" Amazingly enough, two Rasengans formed at Naruto's palms, aimed at Jiraiya. "Can you do this as well, Ero-Sennin?"

Jiraiya smiled. 'The kid has grown… To do that without even trying…' Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah, I can do that too…" Jiraiya thought about it. 'Although it'll probably take me a bit more effort…'

Naruto frowned, letting the Rasengans disappear. He performed new hand seals. "Suiton, Suidan Daitoppa!!" Water Balls suddenly were shot from Naruto's mouth.

Jiraiya's eyes widened. 'So we begin already?!' He jumped from side to side to avoid the balls of water as he also performed hand seals. "Tsutek Hibaku!!"

Naruto watched in amazement and quickly used hand seals to save him from the unknown attack. He was surrounded by a gigantic waterfall… The waterfall was circular and Naruto had nowhere to run to. The water came crushing down on him.

Jiraiya smiled as he watched his attack fade away. 'Let's see how he handled that…' Jiraiya narrowed his eyes as he couldn't find Naruto at the center of where the water had hit. Suddenly, Naruto appeared next to him.

"Nice attack… That would simply kill when combined with electricity…" Naruto said, smiling.

Jiraiya frowned, folded his arms and stared at Naruto. "How did you escape?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "You can't hit ME that easily, Ero-Sennin… You fought one of my Kyoubou Clones… I am one as well…"

Jiraiya swallowed. "So you even have an own personality? Pretty amazing…"

The Kyoubou Clone shook his head. "Not entirely… I am a somewhat 'advanced' Kyoubou Clone… and Naruto can't really create that many without using a lot of Chakra."

Jiraiya shook his head and heard the Kyoubou Clone disappear with a puff of smoke. He heard another land next to him. "I assume you're the real Naruto?"

Naruto grinned. "Yeah… You used a great technique there… Can you show it to me again?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Heh, seems I can still teach you a few things, huh? I know many Jutsus, Jutsus I invented myself."

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He had run down all Ramen Bars in Konoha and the blonde Shinobi he was looking was in none of them. He simply couldn't wait to see his old team mate again. To see how strong his so-called rival has become. To see if he stood a chance against Naruto. He was now jumping back towards Naruto's old apartment as he sensed a familiar presence close to him. He slowed a bit down to let the figure catch up to him.

"Ohayo, Shino."

"Ohayo, Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke looked at Shino curiously. "Did you know that the murderers of your old team are in the Village?"

Shino didn't seem perturbed at all as Sasuke asked him this. "Yes. I have been informed by the Hokage-sama on their situation and also know why they had killed my team mates…"

Sasuke frowned. "So… why did they kill your team mates?"

"They were under a high Mind Genjutsu… It could not be helped. But… I can not forgive them. I will not attack them, but my respect for them is nonexistent."

Sasuke frowned, but nodded as he went on his way, with Shino following. "I'm looking for Naruto right now, are you sure you want to come with me?"

"My mission is to observe you. Where you go, I go. I do have to say, do not start a fight with Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke grinned. "Training and fighting are different things, Shino."

Both of them stopped as they saw two figures waiting for them. "Kakashi… Sakura…"

Shino bowed once before Kakashi and took off his mask. "Kakashi… What are your orders?"

"None, I wanted to bring every member of the old team 7 together." Kakashi responded.

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Jiraiya was amazed at how far Naruto had come… So far he had completely mastered two of his own moves. It took more than months to invent the Jutsus, but here Naruto learned it all in less than a day. Of course it helped that Jiraiya explained how you had to perform it, whereas Jiraiya himself still had to invent them. That was beside the point though, since Naruto was already well on his way on learning Jiraiya's third own Jutsu… The Heat Wave… Once that Jutsu is activated, you better run, unless you're specialized in fire Jutsus.

"Naruto… How strong have you become really?" Jiraiya suddenly asked, his tone serious.

Naruto looked up at him. "Uhhmm, well, it's hard to say. I have these transformations which make me a lot stronger… Gaara also. Me and Gaara are the strongest of our Mercenary Group."

Jiraiya nodded. 'So he has surpassed Itachi… I wonder how far his potential reaches… Right now, he could probably take on the Fourth… And that's NOT easy…'

"Ok, Naruto… Let's have a real battle, outside Leaf Village… No summons, ok?"

Naruto grinned. "Deal! Let's go!!"

They both disappeared and moved in high speed towards the gates of Konoha, only to get past them. 'Wow, I can tell Naruto has become faster than me…'

A small minute later, Naruto and Jiraiya were intently staring each other down in classical stance. "Let's do this, Ero-Sennin!"

Jiraiya sighed. "Before we start, could you please just start calling me Jiraiya?!" He yelled, earning a frown from Naruto. Jiraiya shook his head. "You're hopeless…" Jiraiya smiled as he quickly did a few hand seals. "Hyousoundare!!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he found himself on a small mountain. 'What the…?! Genjutsu?!' Naruto's head shot up as he saw Jiraiya standing a long distance away from him and also above him… 'Oh shit…' He thought as he saw a huge avalanche coming his way… 'Not good…' Naruto quickly performed hand seals and inhaled deeply. "Ryouganku no Jutsu!!" Naruto shot out red-hot lava from his mouth around him, to counter the snow that came with the avalanche… The scenery was simply breathtaking… To the left, a guy was breathing lava, stopping everything that was coming his way and to the right, a guy was sending a huge avalanche down on the other.

The avalanche stopped and Naruto stopped breathing lava and slightly panted. 'What a guy… To be able to counter my Hyousoundare… What was that Jutsu? That fire must have been hotter than the Fourth's Karyu Endan…' Jiraiya thought as he saw Naruto perform new hand seals. 'His hands move so fast… I can't tell which Jutsus he's going to use…'

"Karm no Jutsu!!"

Jiraiya easily evaded the beam that came from Naruto's outstretched arms. Jiraiya saw Naruto perform a new set of seals, just when he had finished his own.

"Bunretsu!!" Naruto yelled.

"Katon, Karyu Endan!!" Jiraiya yelled.

Naruto disappeared from Jiraiya's view and Jiraiya watched his fire attack miss its target. His ears suddenly heard Naruto's voice again. "Seikaku!!"

'That's right, what did his attack do?' Jiraiya turned to see that Naruto's Karm no Jutsu had been divided into four slightly smaller beams and now they were all heading for him...

Jiraiya gritted his teeth as he had to make fast and small movements to avoid getting touched by any of the attacks. Jiraiya groaned as he watched all four attacks turning around and heading for him again. Jiraiya simply jumped in the right time to avoid all four of them. Unfortunately, it seemed Naruto anticipated as much and had started the "Naruto Rendan!!"

Jiraiya first was hit in the stomach by a knee, then in the back, also by a knee as Naruto used Shadow Dance. After that, Naruto's elbow collided with Jiraiya's face. Jiraiya flew downwards, only to come face to face with Naruto's foot. Jiraiya flew upwards again and met Naruto's foot again, which send him downwards again, straight into Naruto's uppercut. Jiraiya flew several meters backwards, only to harshly land with his back on Naruto's right foot.

Suddenly, Jiraiya was replaced by mud. Naruto grinned. "So, you used Kawarimi?" Naruto said as he appeared behind the real Jiraiya. "I know I hit real flesh in those first few hits…"

Jiraiya nodded. "That's true, you did hit me a few times, but you took too long before you made your fifth attack."

Naruto grinned as he created a Rasengan on his forehead, surprising even Jiraiya… After that, he formed two Rasengans on his hands. "let's continue… Jiraiya…"

Jiraiya swallowed. "You can make a Rasengan on your forehead?!" Jiraiya yelled as he jumped back a bit.

Naruto frowned as he made the Rasengans disappear. "You can't?" Naruto said, seeing Jiraiya shake his head. "That's strange…"

Suddenly, both tensed up as they sensed three people nearing…

"Familiar smell…" Naruto mused out loud as he sniffed the air.

Jiraiya watched Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Shino land on the ground a few feet away from them. "Seems we're taking a break, Naruto."

Naruto and Sasuke immediately locked eyes…

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Itachi, in his disguise as a young man with a pretty long beard, jumped up the roof, landing next to Gaara, who was sitting on the roof.. "Gaara, where's everyone?"

Gaara looked up at Itachi with a bored expression. "Naruto I don't know. Neji, Dareda and Sinobi are training. Mokito and Kisame are inside." Gaara turned back to his staring to something invisible before him.

Itachi sat down next to Gaara. "Gaara… When Naruto comes back… we're going to try 'that' again…" Itachi folded his arms and also stared at the same 'nothing' Gaara was staring at.

Gaara looked at Itachi in slight surprise. "Is that wise? During the technique… a lot will be demolished." Gaara said, his eyes showing interest instead of boredom.

Itachi smiled a small smile and didn't look back at Gaara. "We'll do it outside of Konoha. I only need the Hokage's permission."

Gaara nodded and turned away from Itachi again. "Very well."

The two of them remained in silence, staring at the Village, probably in boredom.

"Oy!! You two! Go grab some food! We're hungry!" Kisame yelled from out of the window.

Itachi and Gaara both narrowed their eyes and looked at each other. "I am NOT getting food…" Gaara spoke, definite sincerity in his voice.

Itachi frowned but also smiled a bit. "Me neither…"

They both just remained seated.

"I'm not hungry anyway…"

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Kakashi observed the boy before him and had to admit… the boy was a definite replica of the Fourth Hokage. The Chakra he had been emanating while he was sparring with Jiraiya easily exceeded his own. Kakashi sighed as Naruto was not even trying his hardest then. 'Indeed the boy has grown… I wonder how far his power reaches now…' The boy, no, the man before him had clearly matured. His face showed he had experienced many things, more awful than joyous experiences probably. The cloak he wore was dark red and it really made you think Naruto was definitely someone who you don't want to mess with. 'Naruto… I really hope you're still somewhat the same…' Kakashi glanced to his side, at Sasuke. 'Like Sasuke… He has not changed very much… He trusts people a lot slower and he has become stronger than me. But now I have a feeling he's going to stay in Leaf Village… He has been taught a harsh lesson and realizes he has to slow down now…'

Sakura glanced at Naruto carefully. 'Naruto… I've heard Tsunade-sama's explanation about the Kuragari Okkanai, but could it have changed him? He seems… cold…' Sakura's look softened. 'I can't recognize him… He has changed so much… He's so…' Sakura glanced at Sasuke. 'He's like Sasuke… his look is just like Sasuke… cold…'

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto. He clenched his fists. 'Naruto… He has easily beaten Shino's elite ANBU Team, while I struggle to beat Shino… I will become stronger than you, Naruto. Once I reached that, I can beat Itachi.' Sasuke stared at Naruto as he regarded him as his rival. 'Yes, a rival he is…Naruto, you have changed so much… No longer are you an idiot, now you're a true Shinobi who has lived through many deaths as your eyes indicate.'

Naruto stared at all three of them, familiarity shooting across his face. 'Kakashi… Sasuke… and even Sakura…' Naruto sighed, he had tried to avoid confronting them. He did not feel like reminiscing, because he did many awful thing, even though he was under Itachi's mind Jutsu. He had even killed one entire ANBU squad of the Leaf. For all he knows, he shouldn't even be here… Perhaps after this war is over, Naruto could find a place to live somewhere out there, away from here.

Naruto looked at Kakashi and smiled as he recognised the lazy look and the Kakashi-like hands in the pockets. He watched the Chuunin uniform Sakura was wearing. 'Technically, I'm still a Genin, if I weren't a Missing-nin…' He had also noted Sakura had become somewhat different… more mature, perhaps. Sasuke still wore the exact same clothing, only black. How very impressive… The same cold look Sasuke had always word was still present on his face this day. Arrogance showed in his expression. 'I really wonder how strong Sasuke has become…'

"Hiya! Anno… Nice to see you guys again after so long!" Narutos yelled as he put his right arm up to greet them and slowly walked up to him, Jiraiya following him.

After the yell, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi got ripped form their thoughts as they observed their surroundings more clearly. They already knew Jiraiya and Naruto were training together here… But they didn't expect to see a small, but still mighty big mountain in the middle of a forest. What was more surprising was that in the center of the little mountain, there seemed to be burnt up lava.

'What kind of training were they having?' Sasuke thought. 'They used Jutsus even I don't know!'

Kakashi smiled as he recognised the mountain, or which Jutsu could create the mountain. 'That's Jiraiya for you… In my opinion, Jiraiya is the strongest of the three Legendary… He has attacks which affects a large area around him, whereas Tsunade has destructive and medical power and Orochimaru has the knowledge of more Jutsus than me. Jiraiya's Jutsus take up a lot of Chakra and Jiraiya was one of those few who had an enormous Chakra Stamina, just like the Fourth and Naruto…' Kakashi observed the melted part of the mountain. 'That must have been Naruto's attack to counter Jiraiya's avalanche…'

Naruto stopped before them and analyzed all of their reactions. Kakashi seemed to be proud and surprised at the same time. Sasuke was angry for some reason and Sakura was indecisive, or seemed that way… maybe a bad case of haemorrhoids, Naruto figured. The fact that they haven't even greeted them back said enough to Naruto and he turned to Jiraiya. "Let's train again another day… I don't want any Sharingan to copy my Jutsus." 

Sasuke narrowed his eyes… 'He has his own Jutsus?'

Sakura found herself unable to say anything. 'I…' Sakura gazed at Naruto. 'He has changed so much that it scares me…' Sakura suddenly decided to speak up anyway. "Let's eat together!" And with that, she really surprised everyone.

Naruto stared at the girl, trying to read her and her intentions. 'Sakura… Strange that in five years, you only managed to become Chuunin… You haven't changed that much at all… Your affection towards Sasuke seems to have disappeared… almost.' Naruto turned his stare from Sakura to Sasuke, who was currently gazing at Sakura questioningly. 'And Sasuke… Has he been in Leaf Village all these five years?'

Kakashi smiled. "Perhaps that's a good idea, it'll be Jiraiya's treat." Kakashi said, earning a big frown from Jiraiya.

"Heh, I don't have the money for it now…" Jiraiya replied with a glare. He turned towards Naruto. "Oy, Naruto, can you still summon GamaBunta?"

Naruto stared at the ground. "I don't know, I haven't summoned him for almost five years."

Sasuke stared at Naruto. 'So he can't summon anymore? That's an advantage for me…' Sasuke suddenly narrowed his eyes as he stared at the ground. 'However… I don't have any summons either, besides small snakes… I doubt Manda will listen to me again…'

Sakura spoke up again. "Shall we go eat now?" Sakura hesitantly gazed between Sasuke and Naruto. 'Maybe, we can be like the old team again…' She thought as she remembered always looking at the old picture of Team 7 in her bedroom.

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Some treats of people just don't change, no matter what the person has lived through. It are those treats that make the person really THAT person. To bring a change in yourself is already difficult, but it is simply impossible to change completely. This fact dawned upon the four people as they watched Uzumaki Naruto gulp down another bowl of Ramen.

"Really, Naruto… You just ate before we trained. How can you still eat so much?" Jiraiya groaned as he sat beside Naruto.

"Did you know that food is the main source for power for the Akimichi Clan?" Kakashi stated. "Perhaps Naruto works the same way…"

Sasuke simply ate from his bowl, but heard everything that was said. Sakura was mainly eying both him and Naruto, and Sasuke was getting quite agitated with it. But he chose to continue eating.

"Ne, Kakashi, Ero-Sennin… How about we train sometime? I would like to see how I fare against the two of you." Naruto asked as he downed the last bowl and burped once.

Kakashi smiled through his mask. "Naruto, to be honest, I think you'd beat me easily… Perhaps Sasuke would be more of a challenge for you…" Kakashi said. 'I don't know how the two would interact now… But I think a little training between the two would bring them closer again…'

Naruto glanced at Sasuke once, who was glancing right back. "Hm, I do wonder how strong you've become, Sasuke… How about it?"

Sasuke frowned at first, finished his bowl and pondered it over, not answering Naruto immediately. 'I have to admit… I'm afraid to be outdone by him… But how can I, an Uchiha, be afraid of this dead-last?' Sasuke smirked. "Yes, we should train together… To see how well we both have progressed…"

Sakura swallowed nervously. "What?! You two are going to fight each other?" Sakura nervously glanced from Sasuke to Naruto and back again. 'They will kill each other then! I don't know how strong they both have become… But I know that I'm still weaker than they were at the Chuunin Exam…'

"We're not going to fight each other, Sakura…" Naruto responded. "We're going to train together… But only one time. Because I usually only train with Gaara these days…" Naruto said. "Well! I'm finished eating! Who's got the money?"

Everyone groaned… Even Sasuke had to fight a grin…

From the back of the room, Aburame Shino observed. But Naruto and the others knew he was there already.

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Neji and Dareda were having a classical Hyuga Battle. Both had their Senshin-Byakugans activated and both were intently staring at each other, trying to find a weakness… anywhere… Sinobi had been beaten by Neji and was resting, leaning against a tree.

"Heh, you've got no injury, anywhere." Dareda stated. 'It's really difficult to fight you, Neji… He probably has already found some sort of weakness on me, while I can't seem to find any on him.'

Neji grinned a little bit and tilted his head. 'He's not very confident; he hasn't been ever since I became stronger than him. It's only logical, really. Still, he has no weaknesses… The battles between the two of us always takes a while to finish.'

Dareda suddenly rushed forward, appeared behind Neji, disappeared and re-appeared in front of Neji, who had disappeared and appeared behind Dareda. Dareda parried Neji's palm away from his neck and rolled forwards, with both his feet towards Neji's face. Neji somersaulted to avoid the hit.

Sinobi smiled a bit. 'These two… the way they battle is always the same… They hit, miss, dodge, hit, miss and dodge again. That's what you'd expect from the two Hyuga masters…' Suddenly, he saw both Neji and Dareda stop trying to hit each other. He watched as they motioned towards him that someone was approaching.

"Dareda-san… These are my old team mates… I haven's spoken them in a while… Although I did encounter one of them. But I kind of beat him up then…"

Dareda smiled and nodded. "We'll head home… They should be here in about two minutes, right?"

Neji nodded back and waved towards Sinobi as Dareda jumped towards him. As they left, he turned towards the direction Rock Lee and Ten-Ten would be arriving.

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Sakura, Jiraiya, Kakashi and Shino were watching Naruto and Sasuke face each other...

"Oy, dobe… Let's see how much stronger you've become. I will show you how an Uchiha really fights…" Sasuke started. 'Ok, Naruto is basically a guy who tends to go for hand-to-hand combat. Say the right words and he'll get pissed off… if he hasn't changed, that is. He's got some strong attacks, but I should be able to overcome them. I'll mostly be learning his techniques and learning the way to defeat them now…'

"Heh, shut up, Sasuke. I already know how Uchihas fight… You won't be able to catch me with your eyes…" Naruto countered. 'The sparring with Itachi has taught me how to fight Sharingan users. I don't know how well Sasuke can use his Sharingan, but it doesn't matter… if I simply pour a little Kyuubi Chakra along with my normal Chakra, Sasuke won't be able to see what techniques I'm using, so he also won't be able to copy them… Plus, it will make my attacks even more powerful. Win-win situation here…'

Shino absentmindedly shook his head as he observed Sasuke's and Naruto's fighting stances. 'Uzumaki Naruto has reached a level far beyond the level I reached. I doubt that Sasuke will be able to be the victor in this little quarrel…'

Kakashi was very interested in how strong both his former students have grown. Amusement was dancing over his features and he smiled as Naruto gathered Chakra, while Sasuke did the same. 'Hmm, both have a Chakra amount higher than mine. They're probably not fighting serious now, so their Chakra amount would be even higher.' Kakashi glanced at Sakura, who stood by his side. 'Sakura has also improved a lot, but not as much as these two. Her Chakra Level should be close to mine… but still lower… But she uses her Chakra better than me.'

Naruto disappeared from view, but not from Sasuke's eyes. 'Damn! He's fast! Faster than me… How is that possible?!' Even though Naruto seemed to be faster, Sasuke could still see him, so the upcoming fist that seemed to appear just below Sasuke's chin was dodged. Sasuke dodged the second attack from his left and countered with a left elbow, which was blocked. Sasuke slightly turned his body to land a knee in Naruto's body, only to see that Naruto had already jumped backwards and had finished a few hand seals. 'Shit!'

'Good, it seems he's slower than me…' Naruto grinned. "Numa Yomi!!"

'What the..!!' Was all Sasuke thought as he sank in the ground and found himself in a small swamp and he was about to drown fast in the mud. 'What can I do?!' And then Sasuke turned Curse Seal level 1 to be able jump out. 'Damn… What a technique…' Sasuke turned back to his normal state and felt the gazes that were on him. 'I shouldn't have used the Curse Seal… But it was necessarily to get out of there…'

"Oy… That… You still have that Curse Seal?" Naruto asked. 'Doesn't matter… I'll beat that Curse Seal easily…' Naruto performed hand seals as quick as he could.

Sasuke observed with his Sharingan but saw nothing but red Chakra around his hands, which was refraining him from seeing the actual hand seals.

"All you've done so far is stare and stand there, Sasuke. What, have you lost all your Jutsus or something?" Naruto asked, having his hand seals finished, he was about to launch one of his own attacks. "Let's see how you handle this, fire boy… Ryouganku no Jutsu!!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he watched how Naruto literally began to breathe lava towards him. 'This is dangerous!' Sasuke jumped backwards and started forming hand seals as well. "Katon, Inferuno!"

Naruto grinned and closed his eyes, letting the attack hit him. Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt a sudden kick in his back. Sasuke landed with his feet on the ground and immediately jumped away from Naruto's second attack. Sasuke watched the inferno he had caused and was extremely confused to see another Naruto simply walk through it, although he was pretty damaged because of the attack.

"Surprised?" Both Narutos said and both chuckled.

Sasuke was more confused than ever. 'He has grown so much… even a Taiyuu Bunshin can't withstand such an attack… and it seems they both have an own personality… What the hell is going on? I have to fight this more seriously…' Sasuke took on a more serious look.

Naruto turned serious too as he saw Sasuke go into a fighting stance again. He made his Advanced Kyoubou Clone disappear.

Sasuke made hand seals as quick as he could and threw Raikiri after Raikiri at Naruto. Naruto in the meanwhile disappeared from view, only to appear slightly farther away from Sasuke. "Oy, Ero-Sennin! I want to show you something! Since you couldn't make a Rasengan on your forehead… Let me show you this…"

Jiraiya's and Kakashi's eyes widened as they saw five small Rasengan at each fingertip of Naruto's right hand.

"They might seem small, but boy can they damage a lot… They grow in size much faster than your err… normal… Rasengan. But the bigger Rasengan still packs more power. But these babies can kill too…"

Sasuke in the meantime had charged a Chidori and threw it at Naruto. Naruto responded by throwing all five small Rasengans at it. Three were enough to stop it and two continued on their way to Sasuke, who quickly created two Raikiris to deal with the two Rasengans.

"This is really amazing… It seems he has mastered the Rasengan as well as the Fourth…" Jiraiya stated. "These two… They're still growing stronger, even after five years."

Kakashi looked at Jiraiya, before turning back to Naruto and Sasuke. "Indeed… But can they keep that much power in check? Already the two have surpassed me… So far, I could have participated in this battle and could've hold my own. But as soon as they turn completely serious…"

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes, they've become legendary, don't you think? They made Chuunins, right? Heh, these guys are not even Jounins yet…"

Sakura was too amazed to say anything. 'They have so many powerful attacks… So many attacks that take so much Chakra, how can they both have so much Chakra? I hope they don't… kill each other…'

"Heh, you're a lot stronger than before, Naruto…" Sasuke said. "But… could you explain the red Chakra?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke and turned serious at the question. "… Let's just say that's the Bloodline Limit of the Uzumaki Clan…"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, but slightly shrugged. "Fair enough." He made a few hand seals and yelled. "Sanjuu, Katon, Karyu Endan!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he watched the humongous stream of fire come out of Sasuke's mouth, towards him. Naruto used his great speed to avoid the first blast of fire and appear behind Sasuke, who noticed. Sasuke jumped, turned in the air and fired the second stream of fire at Naruto. As the fire erupted on the ground and jumped all directions, Sasuke caught movement to his left and shot the third stream of fire. Naruto quickly used a few hand seals, before the fire could hit. "Suiton, Suijinheki!!"

Sasuke inwardly grumbled as he watched his fire being washed away by the water barrier Naruto put up. 'It seems he has an endless supply of Chakra… There's no water around here at all, yet he does a major water Jutsu like it's nothing… He's not even panting…' Sasuke continued with a new set of hand seals. "Nijuu, Senei Yashuu!!" Sasuke pointed both his arms at Naruto.

Naruto did not know the attack, so he was surprised when many snakes were shot from Sasuke's arms. 'Holy shit! That's a real creepy Jutsu!' Naruto quickly did four hand seals and yelled. "Karm no Jutsu!!"

Sasuke jumped out of the way of the beam, after he watched how his snakes all were destroyed by the same beam. Sasuke did manage to see that Naruto was performing seals again.

"Bunretsu!!"

Sasuke turned around to see that the beam that Naruto had shot, was now divided into four beams. Sasuke heard Naruto say another technique.

"Seikaku!"

'I can imagine what that means…' Sasuke thought as he watched the four beams again and nodded as he watched all four heading for him. 'As expected… Still, this is very hard…'

Sasuke avoided all four beams easily, since they weren't moving too fast. But he did notice that Naruto did not have to do anything while his current attack was raging over the battleground. So it was only natural Naruto was again doing hand seals. "Tsutek Hibaku!!"

Sasuke swallowed deeply as he was suddenly surrounded by many waterfalls, a lot for water was going to land on him soon… And on top of that, Naruto's Karm no Jutsu, now four beams, were also heading for him. One of them was electricity… With water that would hurt a lot. 'There's no escape for this Jutsu…Wait…' Sasuke moved all of his Chakra to his feet and waited for the Water Beam of the Karm no Jutsu to approach him. The Water from the Waterfalls were still too high.

Sasuke jumped on the Water beam, which launched him a little to the left and a little skywards. Sasuke immediately jumped, when possible, onto one of the gigantic waves of the waterfalls. Sasuke noticed he slipped and was slowly sliding downwards again. Sasuke gritted his teeth, to get control again and focused a little more on the Chakra in his feet. Soon enough, he was walking on the water, which was coming down hard. Sasuke was able to jump out of the waterfalls and land outside of the Jutsu.

Even Jiraiya was surprised. Where Naruto simply had a Kyoubou Bunshin, Sasuke simply used Chakra control to get out of it. Jiraiya wanted to see Naruto do it when he did that attack on him.

'Wow, he found a way to get out of there…' Naruto thought. He watched as Sasuke was now the one performing hand seals. Naruto was surprised to see Sasuke throw a few Shuriken at his own feet, before he announced the attack. "Suicchi!"

In less than  a second, Naruto found himself on the spot Sasuke had been before and he noticed that Sasuke was where he was standing just a second ago. It was too late now to avoid the explosion that came from the explosion tags on the Shuriken…

Naruto flew backwards because of the explosions and crashed against a tree. Sasuke watched from afar as Naruto immediately rose to his feet. His Sharingan eyes widened as he saw red Chakra completely recover Naruto. All the wounds Naruto had inflicted from the previous attack… were completely gone… 'How…?'

There was no time to ask questions, though, since Naruto now had ten small Rasengans on each of his fingertips. "You scratch my back… and I scratch yours…"

Sasuke watched as Naruto launched all ten of the Rasengans at once. He had to be quick… Dodge, jump, roll over, jump, duck and leap backwards. Sasuke was hit however, by the seventh small Rasengan, in his left arm. Sasuke ignored the pain and dodged the eighth and ninth. He was forced to shoot a Raikiri to stop the tenth. As the smoke cleared, he saw that a bigger Rasengan was heading for him. 'Shit..!'

Naruto grinned as Sasuke jumped through the only escape possible, Naruto had already finished his hand seals. "Suiton, Suidan Daitoppa!!"

Sasuke couldn't avoid the Water Bullets that came towards him. He was hit right in the chest, on the right leg and he took one in the face as well. Sasuke fell backwards on the ground. Naruto was already jumping and doing hand seals. And then, he stopped, as realization struck him… 'I was about to give him a finishing technique…' Unfortunately, Naruto stopped just in time to  see Sasuke shoot several balls of fire at him. Naruto wasn't able to dodge the first, but the others missed their target.

Naruto let the red Chakra heal him again and formed hand seals again. 'Damn… to think I still have the need to kill my opponent. But this is just a sparring match!' Naruto finished his seals and noticed Sasuke was done with his as well…

"Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!!" Sasuke yelled.

"Kuchiyose Kabashira!!" Naruto yelled.

Dozens of Shurikens were heading for Naruto. Around Naruto, hundreds of wasps suddenly appeared and began to fly for Sasuke. Naruto smirked as the wasps easily flew through the Shurikens towards Sasuke. As the Shurikens were about to make their impact, Naruto yelled. "Kyoubou Tate!!"

Red Chakra deflected all of the Shurikens. Naruto grinned. 'That is MY ultimate defence…'

Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw hundreds of wasps approach him. He quickly did a few hand seals, ran towards the wasps and yelled "Katon, Inferuno!!" enveloping the wasps in a gigantic wave of fire. But he himself was also caught up in the fire. He jumped out as fast as possible… His clothes were slightly burned. 'At least I managed to burn those wasps…'

Naruto grinned. 'Maybe it's time to get really serious now…' Naruto made six Kyoubou Clones appear around him. "Alright, listen up!! Get over there and beat that guy up!" He said, pointing at Sasuke. The six Clones obeyed and rushed towards Sasuke, who saw red Chakra all over their bodies with his Sharingan…

Sasuke managed to dodge most of their attacks. Their claws really seemed to trouble him, since those were harder to dodge. Sasuke kicked one clone in the face and launched himself via that face, so he could perform a somersault, doing a few hand seals and landing a few feet away from the other clones. "Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!"

Sasuke let the fire embrace all of the clones, but already expected them to survive it and jump through, so he quickly threw a few Raikiris at them, only to see that they were also able to dodge his attacks. Sasuke gritted teeth as he felt one punch in his stomach and another on his right cheek. Sasuke landed harshly on his back. 'No… I can't win this without the Curse Seal…'

Sasuke activated the Curse Seal and began a little skirmish with the six clones. They seemed to be evenly matched, all six against Sasuke. Sasuke now had enough power to at least send a clone flying when he hit them. But he still felt it when they hit him as well. 'I have to do this quickly, I already used up a lot of Chakra and this Curse Seal isn't helping…' Sasuke activated level two and dealt with all six clones easily… He faced Naruto, who looked more than shocked.

"You… What the hell is that?!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke grinned. "This is my Curse Seal at level two… You don't know it?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and saw the Chakra around Sasuke. 'It gives him more power indeed… I guess I'll have to get a little boost as well…'

Sasuke's eyes widened as red Chakra began to swirl around Naruto. Naruto's eyes were still blue, though. Sasuke remembered one time when he saw that Naruto's eyes were red. "Let's end this…"

Sasuke never expected that this Naruto would actually be faster than him in his level two state. But here it was, and he was being pushed back, slamming into a tree. Sasuke coughed up a little blood as he recovered from the simple headbutt Naruto had just delivered. Sasuke appeared behind Naruto and grabbed him by the neck and put a kunai to his neck. "I win…" Until suddenly, Naruto yelled. "Kyoubou Tate!!"

Sasuke was blown away by the sheer force of Naruto's Chakra. 'What the..?!'

Naruto turned around and grinned. "There is no way you can beat me now… Sasuke…"

Sasuke, puzzled by Naruto's comment, looked down at himself and noticed he was back to Level one of his Curse Seal… 'Shit, I used too much Chakra…'

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"Lee, Ten-Ten…"

"Neji… Nice to see you again… Hokage-sama has informed me about… everything." Rock Lee started as he gazed at Neji. "You couldn't help it."

Ten-Ten stared at Neji with a funny look of happiness. "I'm glad you're back, Neji… It's been more than five years!" She yelled, refraining herself from hugging the Hyuga.

Neji smiled. "… Thanks… I… It's good to be back again… So, you two managed to become Jounin." Neji smiled a little more. "Not surprising really."

Rock Lee smiled back. "Thanks… Uhmm, we came looking for you… because, well, Gai-sensei asked us to. Even though he is no longer our instructor, we still listen to him sometimes."

Ten-Ten turned from Lee to Neji. "Even though Lee is stronger than Gai-sensei now… Lee is known as the best TaiJutsu user in the Leaf Village, Neji."

Rock Lee knocked himself in the chest once. "Ahum! And Ten-Ten is known as the weapon specialist of the Village. We've become great Shinobi…"

Neji stared at both of them, surprised that they both would talk so easily against him. "I… I'm sure you have…"

"And still, you're better than me, Neji. You defeated me weeks ago… But this will not stop my ambition, I will still grow stronger!" Rock Lee yelled passionately.

Ten-Ten giggled. "Some people never learn… Neji… How about we all catch up? Gai-sensei also?"

Neji curiously gazed at Ten-Ten. Ten-Ten now wore her hair completely lose, allowing the brown locks of hair to fall in front of both her cheeks. "S-Sure… Lead the way."

Rock Lee frowned and Ten-Ten giggled again. "Why not activate your Byakugan and see where Gai is? We'll head there first."

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Kakashi observed the battle with his Sharingan revealed. He discovered Naruto purposely used a little Kyuubi Chakra with his techniques, so Sasuke and he would be unable to copy them with their Sharingans. He had also noticed neither Naruto nor Sasuke were really going all out, hence why the battle managed to take so long. It was only a matter of time before Sasuke would falter because of his Chakra loss. Fighting so long with the full use of the Sharingan and even activating the Curse Seal demanded it. He wasn't really surprised to see that Naruto was far from exhausted and showed he wasn't even panting in the slightest.

Jiraiya smirked at the outcome of this little skirmish. 'Naruto can now use a few of my techniques and his own as well… He doesn't need to be intelligent to fight, he just needs to unleash some of his techniques and that will be enough for the enemy to show openings for Naruto. Even Nara Shikamaru will know this…' Jiraiya thought, knowing the number one genius of Konoha. 'It seems Naruto still holds more secrets… From he looks of it, the state he is in now is not his trump card…' Jiraiya thought as he observed the red Chakra dancing around Naruto. 'He's only using a big amount of Kyuubi Chakra, but it looks like he can use even more…'

Sakura was amazed at the battle before her eyes. 'Sasuke-kun… He's grown unbelievably strong and that transformation… it makes him so strong… But Naruto, he has become even stronger, even winning against that last transformation of Sasuke-kun… These two are stronger than I thought anyone could be…' Sakura watched as Sasuke rose on his feet and looked at Naruto.

"Naruto…" Sasuke hesitated in saying more… "I will surpass you again, I assure you. That should be easy for me…" Sasuke stated. 'I have used the Sharingan and I can learn some of his movements… Especially his newfound speed… But I have to train with him… He is the strongest I have ever faced up until now… And he knew how to fight me, he hadn't even glanced once in my eyes…'

Naruto looked puzzled for a moment. "You can't imagine how much I hoped that you would say that…" He whispered. "I've been telling you that six years ago almost every day." Naruto grinned a bit. 'Heh… I deserve this… I surpassed Sasuke…'

Suddenly, Gaara jumped out of a tree and landed next to Naruto.

Kakashi and Jiraiya were both surprised that he was able to conceal his presence from them. Naruto was the only one who didn't seem surprised at his sudden arrival.

"Gaara… is something wrong?" Naruto asked.

Gaara shook his head and turned to Naruto. "No… I sensed your Chakra and went here to see what was going on…" He faced Sasuke. "I told you not to challenge Naruto…" Gaara turned to Naruto again. "I was actually hoping you were facing someone strong…"

Naruto smirked widely. "Heh, yeah. Well, we should go, let's go grab some dinner for the others."

Gaara frowned. "I am NOT getting dinner…"

Naruto shook his head. "Well, I am."

Gaara grumbled and turned to follow Naruto, who was saying his goodbyes and left.

Kakashi walked over to Sasuke. "Sasuke, are you okay?"

Sasuke watched Naruto and Gaara leave and turned away from Kakashi. "I'm fine… I'm leaving." Sasuke stated as a goodbye and jumped away.

Kakashi sighed and turned towards Sakura, Jiraiya and Shino. "I guess we'll leave too, then?"

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"After you were gone, we simply continued doing missions. We were aware we lost three Shinobis of Leaf Village. You, Naruto and Sasuke, but the ones that had abducted you were apparently too strong for us. Me, Sakura, Lee and surprisingly enough Hinata, who managed to drag Kiba and Shino along with her, were prepared to go after you guys. Even Kakashi and Gai would. But the Hokage had ordered us to stay put. A little later, she had decided to put up two teams of Jounins to go after you. Gai and Kakashi were amongst them, so were Lee and even Shikamaru. One of the Sand Jounins was left here and his students also joined him on their search for Gaara." Ten-Ten told Neji as they ate.

"I see…" Neji responded. "And what about you? How did you become Jounins?"

Ten-Ten slightly blushed. "Uhm, well, after you left… I became more focused on my training, perfecting everything I could. Soon I was way above Chuunin Level and when we retook the Chuunin Exam, I was one of the better participants. I have perfect control of Chakra and know how to handle every single weapon that exists. But I don't know many Ninjutsu, Genjutsu or TaiJutsu techniques. But I manage."

Lee waited for Ten-Ten to finish her story and had finished his meal in the meantime. Afterwards, he followed up. "I also focused more on my training and was number one in the Chuunin Exam we both took. My power and speed could rival with most Jounins so I was promoted to Chuunin. Ten-Ten and I got in the same Chuunin Team and when the Jounin Exam came around, we both took it. We both were able to pass it the first time. What about you, Neji?"

Neji thought about how to tell his story. "Well… I trained with the strongest of the Hyuga Clan, who happens to be a missing-nin as well. Hyuga Dareda. He trained me in all of the Hyuga styles. After a few years, I surpassed him. I realized that people called Dareda legendary, so what did that make me? I didn't really care and continued on my goal to become stronger. Naruto and Gaara were both still stronger than me and they still are right now. I don't know if I can still grow much stronger, but I will continue to try."

Lee and Ten-Ten both nodded their heads. Ten-Ten couldn't believe how much Neji had changed. The Neji she knew wouldn't admit that anyone was stronger than him so quickly. She never expected that Naruto, who was known to be so weak on the Academy, was so much stronger than Neji. From Gaara she was less surprised. "So… How come Naruto-kun is so strong then?" Rock Lee suddenly asked. "I fought him once and knocked him out easily."

Neji frowned at Lee. "Fight him now and you'll find yourself beaten within seconds, if he's serious and going fully out. Even I won't last long against a serious Naruto or Gaara. I found out his secret, but even without it, he would probably still be able to beat me, though it would be a lot harder for him." Neji told. "Lee, when you fought me those weeks ago, you showed me you can use those Gates perfectly. If you didn't, you wouldn't stand a chance against me. Yet, I still was able to beat you. Naruto and Gaara, don't underestimate them. I underestimated Naruto once, he proved to me that he was someone you don't want to make angry… The same goes with Gaara, actually. What about Uchiha Sasuke? He's here in Konoha as well. Care to tell me what his story is?"

Rock Lee explained, Ten-Ten didn't know as much as Lee did. "He was abducted the same day you got captured. He was captured by Orochimaru and has gained a Curse Seal, which pulls out Chakra at a fast rate, but also makes Sasuke a lot stronger and faster."

Neji interrupted. "Hmm, he had this Curse Seal during the first Chuunin Exam already, I remember."

Lee didn't know that, but continued. "Sasuke came back a few days before you guys came back. I fought him a few times, but he can't beat me without activating that Curse Seal. With it activated to his last transformation, he is able to see me with his eyes and act upon it. But his body isn't as fast as his eyes are, so..."

Neji looked slightly puzzled. 'So, Lee is able to beat Sasuke? Sasuke is weaker than me, then?'

Suddenly, Gai stepped in the small restaurant they were in. "Hello! Sorry for being late, I had to run some errands for the Hokage."

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Naruto and Gaara had just grabbed some food and were walking home again. That was, until Naruto spotted someone very familiar… He seemed to be talking to a another man. Naruto couldn't help but grin and his eyes softened a great deal. Gaara noticed immediately. "What's wrong with your face?"

Naruto turned serious and looked at Gaara. "I'm happy!"

Gaara frowned. "Happy? Happy is such an ignorant word… Why are you happy?"

Naruto's body twitched suddenly. Gaara frowned even more. 'His body twitches only when he sees a major challenge ahead…' Gaara looked up ahead and saw two men talking to each other. 'Does he know them?'

Naruto turned to Gaara. "Uhm, Gaara can you grab this…" He gave the bag of food to Gaara. "And head home, please? I need to talk to this man…"

Gaara looked interested at the two men. "Are they strong? You look like you've found yourself one strong guy… or two…"

Naruto grinned. "Just someone… precious… from my past, Gaara."

Gaara understood and nodded as Naruto said this. "Very well." Gaara jumped away. 'Somehow, I still got stuck with bringing the food…'

Back to Naruto, who was now slowly walking forward, to the two men. "Iruka-sensei??"

Iruka, who heard his name being called, turned to the young man. His eyes immediately widened at the sight. 'O… I… That's…?!' Iruka sputtered it out incoherently. 'Naruto…?!' Iruka narrowed his eyes in surprise. "Na-Naruto?!"

Naruto smiled brilliantly and ran over to Iruka. "Iruka-sensei!!"

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Nara Shikamaru and Akamichi Chouji both stepped into Chouji's favourite bar and were surprised to see Gai, Rock Lee, Ten-Ten and… Neji sitting by a table. Shikamaru frowned a little bit. 'It looks like their old team, the way they are now… But Hyuga Neji is back… Is he on our side? It would be less bothersome if he is.'

"Chicken! Just give me a lot of chicken!" Chouji yelled impatiently. "What do you want, Shikamaru?"

"I don't care. You pick for me… I don't want to think about what I want to eat… It's too troublesome…" Shikamaru said as he sat down beside Chouji and observed Gai, Neji, Rock Lee and Ten-Ten. 'Heh, it's really strange that he's back just like that. I've heard the rumours… So Naruto is back as well? Perhaps the rumour that Gaara is with them is also true? With them back and possibly on our side… we might actually die with less pain against the Akatsuki. I doubt Gaara, if he's here, will fight for Konoha. But now Sasuke, Neji and Naruto are back… About Naruto I am not sure. But they would fight for Konoha… right? This is all just too troublesome…' Shikamaru thought and glanced sideways, to see Chouji gulping down chicken after chicken.

"Shikamaru! Chouji! Come join us!" Ten-Ten's yell suddenly pierced through the atmosphere in the room.

Shikamaru winced. 'Jeez, could anyone yell any louder?'

Shikamaru and Chouji joined them on their table and questions were shot everywhere.

Shikamaru was more interested in Neji, but Neji surprisingly started asking Shikamaru things. "So… You were the first, when we were all Genins, who made Chuunin, right? So how fast did you become a Jounin?"

Shikamaru smiled. "Three years later, the same year Lee and Ten-Ten made Jounin. The Hokage and the Kazekage had promoted me due to my intelligence, apparently…" Shikamaru turned to Neji. "What about you? Are the all the rumours I heard true? Who are you all with?"

"You sound like an interrogator, Shikamaru…" Ten-Ten interjected.

"It's alright…" Neji smiled. "Naruto and Gaara are with me… And it would be unwise to mention the others' names. "

"Fair enough…" Shikamaru replied. "So… are you guys going to help us against the Akatsuki?"

Neji smiled. "Yes… As of now, I serve Konoha again. I don't know about Naruto, though. He kind of has a hard past with this Village, harder than me…"

A short silence ensued, but was stopped as Gai coughed once. "Neji, why don't you tell us about the things you've come across during your time away from Konoha?"

Neji closed his eyes. "I don't think you'll like that very much… It's mostly been killing hunter-nins for money. We were a Mercenary Group and were often hired to protect other missing-nins as they had to travel through their old Village or something like that… And we were the ones that kinda demolished the Stone Village… But it's best if we didn't tell to that to anyone else…" Neji said with a sad smile. "We've done many very bad things… I'd  like to forget it, rather than talk about it…"

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"Naruto, you've really changed!" Iruka yelled as he shook Naruto's hand.

Naruto's smile widened even more. "It's so great to see you again, Iruka-sensei! I would like to treat you to some Ramen, but I just ate and… I kinda ran out of money… hehe…" Naruto turned towards the man next to Iruka.

Iruka noticed. "Oh, this is Sarutobi Shigeru."

"We know each other." Shigeru suddenly said, catching Naruto's attention.

"We do?" Naruto asked. 'Sarutobi Shigeru, Sarutobi Shigeru, Sarutobi Shigeru, who's he again?'

Shigeru sighed. "Well, I guess you don't remember me. We went through the Chuunin Exam together… You, me and Sasuke. Remember?"

Naruto frowned and stared at Shigeru for a few seconds. "I, err… don't seem to remember, but I believe you!"

Shigeru and Iruka fell to the ground.

Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Heh…" Naruto then noticed the clothing both of them were wearing. "Hey, you guys are Jounins! When did you become a Jounin, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka and Shigeru rose to their feet. "Two years ago. Me and Shigeru were partners back then and we both came through."

'So… Iruka-sensei has grown a lot as well?' Naruto grinned. "So, so, what are your best techniques, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Well, I don't mean to boast, but I'm really good at Earth type Jutsus and Jutsus that can track down other people…"

"Heh, you were always good in finding me whenever I ran away from classes…" Naruto said, while chuckling. "What about you, Shigeru-san?"

Shigeru turned towards Naruto. "Well, if you remembered, you'd know I was reasonably good at Genjutsu and now I'm a real pro, although not as well as your old team mate, Haruno Sakura. Who is still a Chuunin, by the way." Shigeru said with a smile. "She lacks at other departments even more than I do. Can you believe that?"

Naruto's eyes widened suddenly. "Now I remember you! We did the Chuunin Exam together, right? You were the one that needed to be saved when Sasuke and me had already beaten our opponents." Naruto said with his hand under his chin. "Yes, it was you! Ha! I remember!"

Shigeru sweat dropped. 'I already told him that a few minutes ago…'

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TBC

Next chapter will probably be chapter 14, 15 and the new chapter all in one chapter, otherwise I'll have far too many chapters for this story… I hope you don't mind… I hope you enjoyed! Oh, I have a few questions, it would help me a lot if you could answer them…

Do you think Hinata should have the Senshin-Byakugan? Do you think Itachi and Sasuke should meet each other in the village? Can anyone make up good techniques for the Yamanaka, Akimichi and Nara clan? I have a few, but I could use more. Do you think the Jutsu List (Chapter 8) is really needed? (It's already 297 kb and 300 kb is the max for this site…) I'm thinking about just making a list of Jutsus in alphabetical order… 

Oh, that's it!

Was it ok? I hope it was ok… If it was really bad… I told you I wasn't good at reunion writing… Anyway, next chapter will take a little longer, because I have exams coming up and those are really important… My mom will kill me if she sees that I wrote this chapter this week, instead of studying…


	15. Tactics and Training

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own those OCs, don't I? Not that that's something to be proud about.

Author's Note: Long chapter again! I decided to just mix the previous two chapters up and this one as whole new one. I think you'll enjoy this chapter, I will at least enjoy writing it… Oh and sorry, because there will be no Iruka and Naruto catching up in this chapter. Also, no Konohamaru. My apologies. Oh, does anyone have any ideas for Jutsus for Konohamaru?

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Review Reply Corner:

**Lady** **Light**: Heh, I agree. I like all of the Naruto characters… Except for the Konohamaru Corps. --'

**Admirer of your** **Story**: Thanks! I'm glad you think of it that way. Yeah I'll do the Jutsu List in alphabetical order, when I have time ;)…

**Magicalfoci**: Hehehe, indeed... It was fun to write the Naruto-Sasuke fight, I'm glad you like it! Sarutobi Shigeru, I didn't really think anyone would remember him, but it's cool you do!

**Perverted-senin**: Whoa, thanks! English isn't my first language so I tend to make many grammatical mistakes and my spelling(sp?) isn't that great either usually. I'm glad you like my story!

**Sirus183**: Thank you for the review! I hope this chapter will entertain you as well! But Sasuke and Itachi meeting each other? I still don't know, perhaps you'll see in this chapter…

**Ino Pig**: Thankfully! It's long enough! And hell yeah, Naruto is da man! Heh, uhm, yeah… About Hinata and the meeting of Itachi and Sasuke… You'll find out what I decided if you read the Chappie!

**Lostlily**: Are you kidding? Your story '**Three**' is awesome! I just hope it doesn't become YAOI, but well, it's your story! A person's mind in darkness, huh? Kinda reminds me of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Thanks for the review and liking my story! I hope you get rid of that writer's block soon and throw that heavy load off your shoulders.

**Pyr00tje**: Oh hell yeah you're right! Perhaps slightly obvious, but I think Naruto should be stronger than Sasuke. Here's another update! I hope it lives up to your expectations ;)!

**DocDragon**: Sasuke finish Itachi off? Well, let's wait with that a little longer. Your other suggestions are right on track!! And yeah! Please send me the idea of your Jutsu! Before you start reading this chapter, please!

**RuByMoOn17**: Yep, Naruto's really great, huh? Thanks for reviewing!

**The**-**TempesT**: SO, you're a definite Naruto lover too?! Same here!! Thanks for the suggestions! Hmm, did I take too long in updating this time? I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

**Loon** **Luu**: Thanks for the review! Heh, you enjoy great battles, right? The Sasuke-Itachi one is really interesting to think about. Oh well. Find out what I did with Hinata here, hope you enjoy!

**Misu** **no** **Yami**: I'm glad you liked it, here's another! Thanks for reviewing!

**Zsych**: Heh, well, what would happen if you would perform the Fourth's Jutsu on yourself? Or on someone who is already dead? Thanks for the suggestions for the Clans. The Akimichi Clan can really grow big, they can even face a big summon on themselves. Hmmm, about the Rasengan… I hope you don't mind, but I still want to consider it something only Naruto, Jiraiya and the Fourth could do. Gomen ne. And man, about that Shadow Technique… That's terrifying. Tear apart your enemy. I made something up thanks to that, thanks! About those Shadow Blades, well, I gave one of the Takabashi twins that technique already…

**SilverKnight7**: Here's the next chappy! Hope you enjoy! I'm glad you like it!

**EfrainMan**: Heh, I didn't know it was Mangekyo. But I think the user will simply name it Mange, right? Otherwise he'd have to talk a bit more :P. I assume you're a NaruHina fan, btw?

**Shishi** **haze**: Hmmm, about making a shadow a real object, that's really cool… there are many people out there who don't like Sasuke, which is both surprising and not surprising, because… oh well… Thanks for the suggestions and the review!

**Stoictimer**: I'm glad I don't stink… as an author. Don't know in real life, though… Man, most people want Sasuke and Itachi to meet… It's really difficult to write about it, but fun at the same time. Well, thanks for the review!

**Hotaru**-**chan**: Well, here's the next update! I hope you enjoy! And about Hinata and the Senshin-Byakugan, well find out! :P

**Animefreakoid**: Thanks, I'm glad you like my lil fic! And I agree with pairings, though sometimes it comes in handy, i.e. for dialogue writing. Thanks for your suggestions! I'll keep the ones you gave for the Akimichi and Yamanaka Clan in mind.

**Lemmings12**: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like how I write, sometimes I doubt it so thank you! Everyone has secrets… some just have darker ones than others, right? Jutsu List will be in alphabetical order. Ah, here's the next chapter, hope you like!

**EvilP**: Heh, I didn't think you'd read my story again, but thanks! I'm glad you like it again!

**Akito**: Thank you!! Here's the next chapter!

**Hide-a**: Heh, thanks! Y'know, I hate exams… Here's the next chapter, enjoy!

**Kadetto**: Heh, Hiya, Rickard! Yeah, sorry, I've been busy lately because I have exams, but I'll get back to you as soon as I have more free time.

**Death Knight**: Heh, so you think those four (I'm guessing you mean Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara and Neji) were jackasses? Heh, that's really, somehow… interesting and I do have to say thank you for that! I'm glad you like the fic, here's the next chapter, please enjoy!

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**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 16

Gloom was reflected on most faces in the Leaf Village. A lot of time had passed ever since the Akatsuki managed to take all scrolls. Many of the younger Shinobis hoped the threats were gone but despair returned easy as allies of the Leaf entered the Village. Many Sand Shinobi and Stone Shinobi were travelling between Leaf and their own Village to report or learn of any new information. Among the Sand Shinobis were Kankurou, Temari and Baki, who were very surprised to find Gaara in Leaf Village…

Most Shinobis were training and when they weren't training they were or sleeping or eating and drinking. Jiraiya was mostly training with Maito Gai and Hatake Kakashi. Yuuhi Kurunai and Sarutobi Asuma found themselves often training with Mitarashi Anko and Morino Ibiki. Uchiha Sasuke ignored one of his old team mates and often chased the other. So Uzumaki Naruto often trained with Hyuga Neji, Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke. An understanding formed between them. Yamanaka Ino, Hyuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura were training each other every day as well. Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino trained together, even though Shino was on a slightly higher level, Kiba was still one of the few Shinobis who knew how to properly fight an Aburame. Rock Lee and Ten-Ten wanted to train with Hyuga Neji but saw that Neji preferred to train with Naruto and Gaara, so they found themselves often training with Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. The Hokage and Shizune focused on making their own medical Jutsus even more effective or in some cases, deadlier.

Uzumaki Naruto had tried to form new Jutsus for himself. He had perfected the Rasengan in perfect way. Thanks to Neji he knew how to perform the Karm no Jutsu more properly. The Ryouganku no Jutsu did a lot of damage to Naruto's mouth because of the lava, but thanks to Kyuubi Chakra it healed pretty fast. His own absolute defence was perfect for Ninjutsu and TaiJutsu, but Naruto still had difficulty in detecting Genjutsu. But once he poured a little Kyuubi Chakra in his own Chakra system, all of his senses improved highly. He could probably use his nose better than members of the Inuzuka Clan.

Hyuga Neji was a true genius. After watching Itachi perform the Mangekyo Sharingan: Amaterasu, he developed a similar move. He didn't name the move, because it was simply a move which needed a high Chakra control. Only fit for a Hyuga, anyway. Itachi was surprised to see Neji perform it and smiled at the similarity between his own Amaterasu and Neji's move. Neji's Kaiten's range was extremely high. One of the benefits of the Senshin-Byakugan was that there simply was no blind spot anymore. Neji had become a true Shinobi and his talent probably exceeded far beyond most Kages.

Gaara's development was very similar to Naruto's. Though his Chakra amount was lower than Naruto's, the way Gaara used his Chakra was a lot better. Where Naruto was more of a show-off, Gaara was a one-hit kill type of guy. His moves simply take less Chakra and are more based on causing a lot of damage. Once Gaara pours a little of Shukaku's Chakra in his own Chakra system, his senses, like Naruto, improve a lot. His defence system is so much solider. But once he transforms in a miniature Shukaku, Gaara becomes truly immovable and he attacks with gruesome attacks beyond everyone's belief.

Uchiha Sasuke's Curse Seal was a big problem. The seal Kakashi put on it was gone, so Sasuke asked Kakashi to do it again. This way, he could grow stronger without using the Curse Seal. He could fight longer fights and could use the Mange Sharingan almost five times on a day, the fifth try would simply make Sasuke faint. Sasuke mostly focused on his own body movements and High levelled Jutsus which required a lot of that. He found himself often feeling regret. If he hadn't gone with Orochimaru, he would have no problems at all with growing stronger faster, even though it seemed the opposite way at that time.

Haruno Sakura was THE Genjutsu Specialist of Leaf Village, with Sarutobi Shigeru close-by. It was really surprising she was the best, because she was, after all, still a Chuunin. Her TaiJutsu was lower than Ino's but at least she was better in it that in the past. Her Chakra Control was also perfect but she didn't really possess that much Chakra to control. Other than that, Sakura's personality has changed a lot through the years. Instead of being the whiny, innocent-looking girl she was now more spontaneous and aggressive, though some people would not call the 'more aggressive part' a change.

Hyuga Hinata still hadn't made her father proud of her, but she didn't really need his approval of her skills anymore. Thanks to the Hokage, she had become a true medical Shinobi, especially with a Byakugan at her disposal. Hinata had come a far way with developing the Hyuga Clan abilities and of course knew the Heavenly Spin and the 64 opening Points Attack. Hinata's personality had changed the most and she acted like a real leader when needed. She was the Chuunin who was closest to becoming a Jounin.

Yamanaka Ino had focused more on TaiJutsu combined with sword skills in the past. After that, she had developed her family's Jutsus and had perfected the Shintenshin no Jutsu in a whole new level. She could now control the cloud of Chakra she sent towards her opponent and stay completely conscious at the same time. She could even make the cloud of Chakra expand and hit more opponents on the same time, controlling their movements all the way. The only downside is that Ino does not have a lot of Chakra and is more content on using her family's Jutsus as a last resort.

Nara Shikamaru had terrifying skills, which didn't even exist in the Nara Clan, but ones that only Nara Clan members could perform. So Nara was THE genius of the Nara Clan. He could now control shadows and enter them as well. Once in the shadow of another, he could control the movements of his opponent. He could also simply stick a kunai in the shadow of the opponent and kill the opponent that way, but he has to be in the shadow to be able to do that. His intelligence and his calmness during battle were outstanding and he was the perfect image of a Jounin.

Akimichi Chouji learned a way to control the food within him and was the first of the Akimichi Clan to know how to deal with the downside of the Akimichi Pills. He had found a way to hold all kinds of food in his body in a better way… One of the strange things was, Chouji almost never had to go to the toilet. During a fight, Chouji could also expand any part of his body whenever he deemed fit. When an opponent was far away, Chouji would only expand his arm to be able to punch him. When an opponent was jumping and planning on landing him, Chouji would expand his legs so he would shoot up against the opponent. Chouji had focused more on his speed than anything else. But he was still not really fast.

Inuzuka Kiba had learned a batter Chakra Control and could perform the highest Inuzuka Technique twice a day without it being life/threatening. The third would be fatal, however. Other than perfecting the Inuzuka Bloodline Abilities, Kiba could also communicate with Akamaru without his opponent knowing it. Kiba also had a state of total insanity, in where he would be totally unpredictable in his movements and be more than lethal. He did not have any control in this state and once used, Akamaru would join the party as well… Akamaru, who had grown to be one of the strongest dogs of the Inuzuka Clan.

Aburame Shino had perfected every ability there was of the Aburame Clan. After doing so, Shino became the leader of the best ANBU Leader and learned more and more of how to battle more effectively. Aburame Shino simply knew when he would be outmatched or outnumbered and when he would be able to win a battle. Without the glasses, Shino had found a way to use his Aburame eyes. Like the Sharingan, it was hypnotic, but it could only be used once on a body and Shino could gain control of the Chakra system, implanting poison or taking poison from the body. Or even taking Chakra from the body. But after using it once, the body it is used upon becomes immune for it. Shino uses his eyes as a last resort.

Rock Lee had come to know that his speed was slightly higher than Naruto's and he was extremely impressed by it. He worked harder to expand the gap between them. It was vexing to know that Naruto was also a sort of genius of hard work so this was an ambition that would take more than usual. He trained with Naruto once and found out that Naruto could use his Chakra in a different way… He had seen red Chakra around him and saw how his speed increased unimaginably. Lee could keep up but knew he was slower. He increased the weight he wore on his feet, arms and chest and made his headband heavier as well.

Ten-Ten was THE weapon specialist of the Leaf and still a Chuunin. She could even stop any Shurikens coming her way simply using her Chakra to control the weapons' movements, no matter how hard the weapons were thrown at her. That has become her absolute defence. Ten-Ten had learned how to form her Chakra in weapons as well. Like Asuma, who used Chakra to expand the range of his weapons' attacks. But Ten-Ten knew how to make Chakra solid and throws it towards her opponents.

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Naruto was gulping down Ramen while Sasuke and Neji were talking to each other. Gaara was also eating, but in a slower pace than Naruto. They had just finished training and were on their way home.

"So you're saying that there's still Chakra coming out of my Curse Seal?" Sasuke asked Neji, before he faced his own bowl of Ramen.

Neji nodded. "Yes. It seems you can't refrain using little of it. But Chakra is still being pulled out, though not as much as when you really activate it. Even with Kakashi's seal upon the Curse Seal, it seems it's still working."

Sasuke snarled. "Damn that Orochimaru…"

"Hmm? That snake bastard's still alive?" Naruto asked with a lot of Ramen in his mouth. "He was a Leaf Shinobi, right? It would be helpful if he helped fighting against the Akatsuki. Even though he is a traitor."

Sasuke snorted. "Right now he doesn't dare to enter this Village… There are far too many strong Shinobis here."

"Say Naruto? Have you been working on any new Jutsus lately?" Neji suddenly asked, changing the subject and starting on his own Ramen.

Naruto swallowed a lot of Ramen and ordered a new cup before answering Neji with a grin. "Yeah, yeah! But I can't seem to get it to work…"

Neji smiled. Naruto often had great ideas for new Jutsus and had the Chakra amount to try anything out of the ordinary. Often Neji himself could learn the Jutsus as well as he explained Naruto how to do it right. "So, what does it do?"

Naruto put on a difficult face, obvious preparing to explain. "Well… I've been wanting an attack that ALWAYS hits… You know, an absolute offence, instead of an absolute defence? But I can't seem to think of anything that's naturally drawn to us… humans. The only thing I can think of is gravity, right?"

Neji nodded. 'Interesting… An attack that will ALWAYS hit… But how to create such an attack?' Both Sasuke and Neji thought as they listened to Naruto.

Naruto continued. "I tried to create this… gravity effect on myself, so things would be drawn to me, using Chakra, but I can't seem to make it work…"

Neji's eyes widened. 'Of course… Use Chakra to pull the enemy towards you, creating many openings in your opponent as well…'

Sasuke's eyes widened as well. 'Naruto… that's really… an effective technique… To think of it just like that…' Sasuke watched Naruto. 'He invents Jutsus just like that?'

Neji smiled. 'That's Naruto for you… He lays it out and I will play it out… Afterwards learning it to Naruto of course. Still, how to create Chakra to make it have the same effect as Gravity? It will be dangerous, because the opponent will not be the only one or thing who will be pulled towards you. Possible sand from the ground will be pulled towards you as well… and then there are trees and stones…'

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Tsunade was dividing certain teams for the upcoming battle. Jiraiya stood beside her in her office.

"So, what do you think, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked. "Should I put those together?"

Jiraiya sighed. "I don't know, Tsunade… They can work together better than anyone else, but they're probably also the strongest in the Village. I know Naruto is stronger than me and he can beat you too, Tsunade. Gaara's probably the same. And Neji's growth's close by… I think they should be divided."

Tsunade smiled. "Hm, to divide strength and make all teams equally. But it is time to go out and find the Akatsuki. We've trained a lot already and if we aren't ready now, we won't ever be. It seems they won't come for us, so we'll have to go for them."

Jiraiya shrugged. "Perhaps that Akatsuki Leader hasn't learned all the skills of all those Secret Scrolls yet."

Tsunade scribbled all teams down on paper and Jiraiya had to frown a few times.

A lot of time later, the teams that would be moving out and the teams that would stay in Leaf Village were known…

Yuuhi Kurenai, Temari, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata and Nara Shikamaru.

Jiraiya, Uchiha Sasuke, Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura and Akimichi Chouji.

Hatake Kakashi, Rock Lee, Mitarashi Anko, Gaara and Inuzuka Kiba.

Maito Gai, Hyuga Neji, Kankurou, Morino Ibiki and Baki.

Sarutobi Asuma, Sarutobi Shigeru, Iruka, Ten-Ten and Shizune.

The last team would be staying in Leaf Village and all other Jounins and Chuunins would be staying in Leaf Village as well. The other teams would all be moving out. Tsunade purposely didn't include Itachi, Kisame, Sinobi, Mokito and Dareda, but she did already ask them if they could also form a team and move out.

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Naruto and Neji were going home, Sasuke was also going home and Gaara was staying behind, after Kankurou, Temari and Baki had suddenly entered the Ramen Stand.

"So… How are you doing, Gaara?" Temari asked as she carefully approached Gaara and sat down beside him. Kankurou and Baki followed the example.

Gaara eyed Temari and oddly enough… smiled. "I am fine, Temari… It's been long… I have missed you. I'm glad to see you're all still alive."

Kankurou narrowed his eyes carefully. 'Gaara has changed even more… He actually smiles…'

Baki smiled. 'So, he has finally found himself a nice life…'

"So, did anything… interesting happen to all of you… in these five years?" Gaara asked, opening the real conversation. He wasn't that good in conversations since he didn't really like talking too much.

"We're all Sand hunter-nins, Gaara." Kankurou said, a little proudly.

Gaara looked at him. "So your job is to hunt me… am I correct?"

Kankurou chuckled nervously. "Uhh… Heh, well, I don't think we could take you in, even if we wanted… But no… Even after everything that happened…"

Temari finished. "We still see you as our brother, Gaara. I'm glad you're happy."

Gaara smiled at that and faced Kankurou again. "No need to be nervous, Kankurou… I won't kill you." Gaara stared forward, not at any of them. 'Because both of them are my precious persons… right, Naruto?' Gaara finished as an afterthought.

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The Hokage has summoned all of the Chuunins and Jounins to the Hokage Office. Naruto, Neji and Gaara left, after Itachi and the others let them know they weren't going.

Once there, they found that there was actually a line in front of the Hokage Tower. Naruto, Neji and Gaara landed behind Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. "Man, how troublesome this is…" He glanced over his shoulder and noticed Naruto behind him. His eyes widened.

"Naruto! So, you're really back." Shikamaru said as he analyzed him. 'So he's with Hyuga Neji and… Gaara…'

"Hiya, Shikamaru! Chouji!" Naruto yelled back with a wide smile.

Gaara smiled at Shikamaru's discomfort. "My apologies…Shikamaru…" Gaara said, learning of his name as Naruto yelled it.

Naruto and Neji frowned at Gaara. "What are you apologizing for, Gaara?" Neji asked.

"We… encountered each other in the past… I trapped him in my Sphere of Sand combined with Suna Bakuhatsu. But I did not kill them."

'How troublesome…' Shikamaru nervously chuckled. "Heh, I hold no grudge…"

Kankurou, Temari and Baki landed behind Naruto, Neji and Gaara. They greeted each other and continued on their way.

Inside the Hokage Tower, Tsunade was telling everyone her plans. Afterwards, she had informed everyone of the teams she had formed and told them to train together to get used to each other. Jounins and Chuunin who weren't in a team had to stay in the Village to guard it.

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"More troublesome than this is not possible…" Shikamaru mumbled. 'Out on a crusade…' He thought as he watched Temari, Naruto, Hinata and Kurenai arrive at the training area his team were to meet. It was more troublesome since no one has been appointed as leader. Shikamaru figured it was either him or Kurenai. Hinata was still Chuunin and Naruto was actually a missing-nin, but a Chuunin before he 'left' Konoha. About Temari he didn't know anything, other than knowing how she fights.

"So… who's the leader?" Shikamaru asked, while looking at Kurenai.

Naruto stared between them and hoped he would be leader, but inside he knew he wouldn't be, simply because he was… perhaps too reckless or something like that. Didn't matter too much, it would be a wonder if he actually got what he wanted. So he simply sat down and decided to just let one of the others be the leader.

Hinata slightly blushed as she saw Naruto sat down on the ground and also kept silent. Sure, she was a Chuunin Leader, but Kurenai and Shikamaru were both Jounins, and Jounin instructors at that. She didn't know Temari that well, but surely she had also become high ranked in the Sand.

Temari observed everyone around her. She didn't really like not being teamed up with Kankurou or Baki. She would even have liked being teamed up with Gaara, just to get to know each other more again. Now she was teamed up with these Shinobis. The Hyuga, from what she remembered, was insecure and lacked true skills. Naruto, however, was stronger than Gaara… Shikamaru was intelligent as hell, so that wasn't that bad. She did not know the other Jounin, Kurenai. Temari sighed and said. "I don't want to be the leader."

Kurenai smiled at the younger woman and turned to Shikamaru. "You should be the leader; your intelligence is higher than mine." Kurenai said. 'And I don't really want to be the leader…' Kurunai added as an afterthought.

Shikamaru sighed. Before he could say anything, Kurenai finished. "And don't say it's too troublesome. You're getting the leadership, deal with it." Shikamaru sighed again.

"Fine… Let's start training then, I want to see what you guys can do…"

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Jiraiya grumbled out loud. 'Why did I agree to this anyway? I have to baby-sit the Uchiha, watch an Akimichi eat a lot and… well at least I can try and collect a little data from these two girls…' He thought as he observed Sakura and Ino, who were both cautiously gazing at Sasuke.

Sasuke suddenly walked towards Jiraiya. "So, let's spar, Jiraiya… I don't know how you fight or how strong you are. But you were able to fight Naruto and not get knocked out immediately. Show me your Jutsus…" He said, staring at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya frowned at the younger man before him and shook his head. "Hm, let me tell you guys first that I am the leader of this little group. I am Jiraiya, one of the three legendary nins of Konoha!" Jiraiya turned to Sasuke. "The other two are Orochimaru and Tsunade…"

Sasuke didn't seem to surprised by this. "Well, let's start training. I don't want to waste time. Like those three are." Sasuke said, motioning towards Ino, Sakura and Chouji.

Jiraiya smiled. "Let's begin by all of you showing me what you can do."

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Kakashi sighed as he watched how Rock Lee had already started his training. Even though Rock Lee and Gaara were stronger than him, he was still appointed as the leader. He doubted if Gaara would listen to him. Kiba seemed to have a problem with Gaara, almost as if he feared him and Anko was leaning against a tree, sleeping. 'What a promising team we have…'

"Oy, Kakashi! How about a little fight between you and me?" Kiba suddenly yelled and Akamaru barked to back Kiba up.

Kakashi smiled. "Very well, then I'll learn of what you can do."

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Neji inwardly groaned, if he did it outwardly, all the others would be blown away because of it. Here he was, remembering what Gai was like when he was having one of his times of giving speeches for 'hope' and all that crap. Neji closed his eyes and leaned against a tree. 'This might take a while…'

Kankurou's eyes were widened as he heard Gai's speech. 'This is one of the Leaf's greatest Jounins? What a moron! I'm more afraid of his eyebrows than anything else…'

Baki wasn't really paying attention either and was already trying to learn how the others were in battle. Gai and Kankurou he knew he could count on. The Hyuga boy was there many years ago together with the Legendary Jiraiya when they took Gaara with them, so no problems there either. He did not know big Scarface, who definitely was a head taller than him.

Morino Ibiki had closed his eyes and it seemed he was sleeping and standing at the same time.

Gai finished. "Alright! Let's start training! Show me what your powers are!"

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Naruto was facing Shikamaru and noticed something strange about Shikamaru. 'He's just standing there, doing nothing…' Naruto sniffed the air once and his eyes immediately widened. Suddenly, he jumped high skywards.

Kurenai and Temari were confused by the blonde's actions, while Hinata seemed to know why he jumped. 'That's… impressive… He never knew of Shikamaru's attack, but he found out anyway…'

A sudden groan was heard from the ground. Naruto's shadow began to grow smaller as he jumped higher and suddenly from out of the shadow, Shikamaru jumped. Naruto landed several feet away from Shikamaru on Shikamaru's Shadow Clone, which disappeared.

"So, you found out I was in your shadow? How?" Shikamaru asked, really interested in how Naruto had found that out so fast. He wanted to impress Naruto a little bit…

Naruto grinned. "My nose. I can smell almost everything! Other than that, my ears and eyes are also a lot better than usual…"

Shikamaru frowned. 'That's odd… Naruto isn't a part of the Inuzuka Clan, but he could still smell me in his shadow?'

"So, if you can enter one's shadow, what can you do when in his or her shadow?" Kurenai asked, several meters to Shikamaru's side.

Shikamaru sighed, not really wanting to explain. "Well, if I put a Kunai in the opponent's shadow while I myself am in it, the opponent feels the kunai where I stick it. So if I stick a kunai in the shadow of the opponent's head, the opponent dies."

Kurenai looked quite impressed by that and so did Temari.

"Awesome! I bet that's one your bloodline skills, huh? Those which I can't learn, right?." Naruto yelled.

"Correct."

"Aww crap…" Naruto pouted. "Let's continue!"

Shikamaru nodded. 'So far, it feels I can depend on Naruto in battle. He has quick reactions and his Chakra is overwhelming… His weakness is mostly his mouth. He talks too much. Another weakness is he is easily insulted. Say drop-out or dead-last once and he freaks out. Judging from the Chakra he has, he can probably break my Shadow Bind with it too… He's become strong alright… What should I do?' Shikamaru thought as he watched Naruto perform hand seals.

"Taiyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"Whoa…" Shikamaru uttered as he found himself surrounded by hundreds of Naruto. 'My Shadow Shield can stop all attacks usually, but he's created a big amount of clones… Perfect for me to test my Kage no Tate…'

"Attack!!" All Naruto's yelled as they rushed forward.

"Kage no Tate!!" Shikamaru yelled back. 'Still even though they hit my Shadow Shield, they will all freeze when they touch it. Since they're all jumping it's even more troublesome…I can hit about six of them in one swing and that simply isn't enough. I conclude… Naruto will have me on this one… My intelligence won't work in this case…'

And Shikamaru got a little pummelled right then…

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Jiraiya had concluded his analyzing and was now lazily sitting on the ground, looking at how Sakura was jumping away from three clouds of Chakra that Ino had sent her way. Jiraiya had fought all of them.

'Uchiha Sasuke is rash and inconsiderate of his own damage as he attacks. Still, despite that, he's a force to be reckoned with. I can't let my guard down when fighting him. He can probably beat me when we both go all out. Haruno Sakura hesitates to attack her opponents, but she can leave her opponent completely open using her excellent use of Genjutsu. I don't get fooled a lot by Genjutsu, but I think she knew that… She purposely used a Genjutsu that seemed completely normal to me… Still, one Cancel hand seal deals with that. The girl needs to learn more things. I heard she could summon Katsuyu. The Yamanaka girl is also quite impressive. The way she uses that sword is formidable, but what's even more impressive is the way she can utilize the Jutsus of the Yamanaka Clan. Though the Jutsus move slow, the fact that she can move the Jutsu itself might come in handy later on. Even the Akimichi surprised me, being able to attack his opponent by expanding certain body parts. His attacking range is big because of that. But against me he had to use those Akimichi pills… Quite bothersome they are, they grant the user a lot more power… With the last pill he can probably beat me… But I'm not really sure about that… We'll have to try someday.' 

Uchiha Sasuke was also impressed by the others. 'Sakura even managed to fool my Sharingan… No Genjutsu I encountered managed to do that… And Ino got me off guard and actually controlled my body for a few minutes. Damn that. Chouji's hit power is much higher than mine, but my speed is much higher than his.. But those pills of his… They really give him a lot of power…'

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Kakashi's assumptions were right. Gaara and Rock Lee were well above him. Kakashi found himself considerably slower than Rock Lee and he couldn't even throw a decent attack at Gaara. But he was able to beat Kiba and Anko. It seemed Kiba was the weakest of the team, but Kiba was still very quick and powerful. Difficult to beat, anyway, Kakashi decided. Anko was another story, the ANBU Leader was as skilled as Kakashi in his best years, but Kakashi carried more experience.

Gaara was pouting inwardly. 'Why do I have to be teamed up with a bunch of moronic weaklings?' Gaara did not even have to try and beat Kakashi, Anko and Kiba. The only one that could really get a decent hit in was Rock Lee, who he had to beat by enveloping him in the Sphere of Sand. Still, Gaara was almost unharmed. Only Lee had hit him about six times or so. Kiba's Sankontessou needed to be dodged, Gaara found out. The same goes for Kakashi's Chidori. Only Anko did not have a powerful attack, the snakes she uses can't get past Gaara's defence.

Anko was smiling as she walked home. The guys in her team were all stronger than her, except for the Inuzuka, who lacked control in battle and left many openings for her to exploit. Gaara was really good. There was nothing Anko could do to the boy. Against Kakashi she was able to at least hit him. Rock Lee was too fast for her. The team she was in was pretty good. If it was to encounter Orochimaru, he'd be dead…

Rock Lee was also smiling as he arrived home. He was able to beat all of them, except Gaara, who easily washed him away. But he was proud of the fact that he was the only one who got past Gaara's Armor of Sand. Not many people could do that. He was also impressed by the talents of the others and he could not wait to go out for the mission. His team was really good!

Kiba wasn't all that happy. Everyone in his team was able to beat him. The only ones he could actually fight decently with were Kakashi and Anko. Gaara and Rock Lee were just too strong. His ultimate attack got past all of Gaara's shields, but Gaara was smart enough not to keep standing in one spot, so Kiba was not able to actually hit Gaara at all. It was pretty frustrating to realize that. But now he had a team that was really powerful, he would have to train harder so they could depend on him.

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Training was over for today, Shikamaru had said. Now they were all heading home, still walking together in a rather slow pace. Naruto was not really impressed by all of them, but that was only because he knew how to get out of a Genjutsu now and because he could always heal his wounds. Hinata was even surprised when her Gentle Fist failed on him. Temari was even more surprised as she used one super wind blast attack on him and Naruto only had his clothes ripped, nothing else. Kurenai didn't have anything on him, because Naruto simply smelled Kurenai and got out of her Genjutsus easily. Still, as a team, they would work together good enough.

But Naruto didn't really like being set up in a team. His last transformation would give him more of a fox look and could blow his cover. He was very sure Kurenai knows of his secret, but she didn't seem to give him one of those old-fashioned cold stares.

Suddenly, Naruto sensed others and immediately used his nose to identify them. 'Neji, Gai and the other smells I don't know.'

Neji landed several feet in front of them, with Gai, Ibiki, Kankurou and Baki around him. Neji glanced over his shoulder and smiled as he recognised Naruto. The others of his team went home, while Neji waited for Naruto and the others to catch up.

"So, how was your training, Neji?" Naruto asked.

"Boring. They're weaker than I expected." Neji answered and gazed at Hinata. They nodded to each other. Neji narrowed his eyes and observed Hinata's eyes.

"I'm going home." Temari suddenly stated. All of them said goodbye and Kurenai also left. Hinata stayed because Neji was still staring at her.

Naruto frowned at Neji's look. "What's wrong, Neji?"

"Naruto… Hinata-sama… She's pretty strong, isn't she?" Neji asked Naruto, still analyzing Hinata's eyes. "Hinata-sama… could you perhaps activate your Byakugan?"

Hinata blushed and shyly nodded. "Byakugan!" Neji also activated his after that.

Neji smiled. 'As I thought… Her Byakugan is highly developed already… It seems her father has never told her about the Senshin-Byakugan, or perhaps he didn't think Hinata-sama would be able to learn it or maybe… he doesn't know the Senshin-Byakugan… But now that I see how far her Byakugan has come… Perhaps she can learn it…' Neji smiled. "Ok, thank you, Hinata-sama. How about we eat some Ramen? My treat?"

Naruto's smile went from small to extreme and hopped around Neji. "Alright! Alright! Hurry up, Neji! I'm hungry!"

"Shut up, Naruto."

Hinata tried to fight a giggle, but it didn't work, making the other two boys chuckle. Hinata blushed, but giggled again.

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TBC

A/N: In the next chapters, the teams have trained a lot together and are ready to go out on the mission to find the Akatsuki's location! Get ready, for the war is about to start… I'll be rearranging the chapters in a few days, so Chappie 14 and 15 will become 14 and this one will become 15.


	16. Barely A Step Closer

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Author's Note: Ok, so here's another chapter for ya. This will be very interesting to write and I hope I'll still make it all a bit believable. First off, this chapter starts with a Flashback!! Second, expect many new moves and third, well… There is no third… Just wanted to sound interesting. --'

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Review Reply Corner:

**Nobuyasha**: Yeah, quite a while, huh? My apologies. Wow! Thanks for being a fan!  Thanks for the review!

**Curlsofserenity**: I'm glad you still think it's cool! Thanks for reviewing!

**Sirus183**: Thanks! Here's the update! I hope you'll enjoy!

**Misu** **no** **Yami**: Wow! You understood all of it!? I'm not sure I did, though… I'm glad you like it!

**Lady** **Light**: I'm glad you love it! And I agree, Hinata is really sweet, huh?

**Lostlily**: Yep, yep, thanks! I got the idea for the Shikamaru attack after re-watching Vampire Hunter D. Itachi and the others will have a bigger role in the war.

**Hattuteline**: Yeah!! Long time no see, man! I know what you mean about the text being somewhat 'off', I think I have the same feeling and it isn't really satisfying, is it? scratches head before sighing I got a few questions for ya, though. I hope you don't mind… I'll send them to you through e-mail if you don't mind, that is.

**Shade89**: Thanks and thanks!! Well, it's not usual for the chapters to be great, not for me anyway. There are a few authors on here who have that treat, however. I'll read your fic now!

**Magicalfoci**: Yep, everyone has gotten powerful, even Sakura! . Sorry, but I still see no Shinobi in Sakura. And well, Neji, Naruto and Gaara are just tired of having no challenge… and yet again, Hinata is really cool!

**SilverKnight7**: Thanks for liking it! Here's an update! Uhm, no pairings in this book!

**:D**: Yep, I try to keep all Characters as IC as possible, but it's pretty hard and I know I failed quite some times already. Neway, thnx for reviewing!

**Hide-a**: Heh, thanks! Perhaps they are side-effects from studying for the exam. But I don't think studying affects me, it's just how the chapter is, I think.

**Stoictimer**: I think that should be possible, uhmm, yeah it is possible. I did the same thing (the chapter merging) with another fic of mine from Evangelion. Thanks for the review! Here's an update!

**Hotaru****-chan**: Thanks! I think Gaara smiles when he kills someone, or at least inwardly. Perhaps Shukaku chuckles when Gaara kills?

**Zsych**: Thanks for the review! There are various ways of techniques (Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, TaiJutsu, KinJutsu, Hijutsu, Doujutsu) So under which category does the Rasengan fit? I got that Shadow Stabbing technique from the Anime Movie Vampire Hunter D insert dark chuckle. About Kakashi, you're right, but it's explained in this chapter. And Sasuke versus Jiraiya, well… The two of them in a fight is really unimaginable for me. I just don't know what the outcome would be. Of course, it takes a lot to be able to surpass Jiraiya, but Sasuke does have a need to get stronger than his brother. Itachi has gotten a lot stronger in this fic, while Jiraiya hasn't grown that much stronger in here. Sasuke has also gotten a lot stronger, even without, but still thanks to the Curse Seal, considering Chakra Control. But I do agree with your funny comment! You about Sasuke: If he has intelligence(which I doubt) Made me laugh. Thanks for the review!

**DocDragon**: Heh, interesting technique, though very hard, since there will have to be shadows everywhere and they must be connected to each other, right? And big enough for Shikamaru to fit in. But I think I can fix that… Thanks!!

**EfrainMan**: Indeed, he did say Mangekyo, in 84 also… Oh well, less-for-me-to-type excuse… Thanks for the review and here's the next chappie!

**X2DarkLord**: Yeah, I know what you mean. It's just that Naruto is too often describes as a loser in the manga and the anime, at least, that's how I see it. I just wanted him to be strong, REAL strong for once, even without the Kyuubi, so others, ALL others, would really acknowledge him. I mean, just imagine how Naruto feels…

**C.S.I.**: Thanks for thinking my story is good! And yeah, of course you can use one of my techniques, why wouldn't you?

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**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 16

A lot was going through his head as he was on his way home. The meeting between him and his old team mates went… oddly well. A sense of familiarity had swept through him as they asked questions and asked questions back. The fight between him and Sasuke was… odd as well. He had held back a lot, but didn't expect Sasuke to be so… weak. Of course, when Sasuke activated that Curse Seal of his if was a different story. But even then, Naruto had the main advantage, since that Curse Seal was draining Sasuke's Chakra fast. And another advantage was that Naruto could also 'transform' and be a little stronger.

When he approached his old home, he was surprised to find Gaara and another man on the roof. As he landed in front of the two, he recognised the other to be Itachi's disguise.

"So, what's up?" Naruto began.

Gaara smirked a bit as he looked at Naruto. "Itachi here wants to try it again… He thinks we're ready now."

Naruto didn't understand immediately, but after thinking about it, and watching Gaara's smirk and Itachi's serious attitude… He suddenly knew. "So we're going inside ourselves again? Last time we did that… we were out for a long time…" He said as he observed Gaara a bit nervously. "I don't want to sleep for four weeks, like back then, Gaara."

Itachi interjected. "This time you're not going to fight. Simply face your demons, try to analyze them, try to find out how you can fight them. The time will come soon, Naruto… I think it needs to be done if we want to beat the Akatsuki. Do remember, when that fights starts… there won't be a cage that will be holding the demons back… You'll have to beat them…"

Naruto nervously swallowed. "I… I know… But last time, he simply defeated me by one gust of Chakra… and he was in that cage! Why would we be able to defeat him now?"

Itachi smirked. "You and Gaara both, have come a far way since that time. You've grown, perhaps you can win."

"And if we don't?"

"Then the Akatsuki will still be destroyed… but so will everything else…"

--------------------------------------------------------------End Flashback-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mission they were going to have in a few days was going to be long and extremely boring. At least she felt safe. Knowing her 'team mates' for now, she knew they wouldn't be defeated easily. She had been very surprised to find out that the Hyuga heiress, Hyuga Hinata, had become far more powerful than before. She was still able to defeat her, since she was an expert in distance fighting, but still… up close she would be screwed against her. She could also beat the older woman, Yuuhi Kurenai, who was mostly specialized in Genjutsu, but one big gust of wind would take care of that, Kurenai's other abilities were slightly below her own. Nara Shikamaru could outwit her and with his newfound skills he kind of scared her. And Uzumaki Naruto had grown terrifyingly powerful; she was no match for him, while she was stronger than Kankurou and Baki, the smartest and strongest of the Hunter team they were in and the leader of it as well. But Naruto scared her a bit too much.

Right now they were training again. She had perfected her own Wind attacks and not many Shinobis could survive her attacks. But here she was, with people who could all survive her attacks and with one who possibly didn't even feel her attacks. So, she did feel safe now. Now, Kurenai was fighting Naruto.

Temari grinned to herself as she saw Naruto smile and wave another one of Kurenai's Genjutsu goodbye as he used his nose to smell where Kurenai was hiding. 'Awfully powerful… I bet Gaara's like him as well…'

Kurenai sighed as all of her attacks failed against the younger man she fought. 'Damn him… I wonder what might work on him. I'm not that good in Ninjutsu as he is and his defence is probably just as good as his Chakra Stamina.' Kurenai did a few hand seals and performed a simple fire technique on the ground that was surrounding herself and Naruto. 'Now all he can smell is burned grass. Perhaps my Genjutsu will work on him now…'

Naruto looked around himself and indeed, smelled nothing but the grass, which was now burned. 'Hmmm, my nose is pretty expendable in this situation… Guess I should use Kyoubou Clones, just in case I get trapped in Genjutsu…' Naruto disappeared and left one advanced Kyoubou Clone in his place, while he created three normal Kyoubou Clones to hide in the bushes. It seemed Kurenai didn't notice because of the smoke that was created by her own Fire attack.

Temari and Hinata noticed however, while Shikamaru wasn't paying attention to the fight and was lying on the ground, staring at the clouds.

A while later, Kurenai smiled as Naruto stumbled and fell on the ground, blood pouring down from his mouth. Her Genjutsu had worked. She used the same Genjutsu she used on Itachi all those years ago. It didn't seem Naruto had noticed or could escape from her grasp as she stabbed him on a few places on his body, where it wasn't lethal. As she made the Genjutsu disappear, she was surprised to see that Naruto rose from his feet and… disappeared with a puff of smoke.

Suddenly, she found herself surrounded by three other Narutos, who were wildly growling at her. Another Naruto landed in front of her. "You lost again, Kurenai-san."

Kurenai sighed. 'Figures he would use Clones…'

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Gaara was slightly entertained as he was sparring with Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja who owned more than a thousand Jutsus, as was said. Gaara did notice that Kakashi had held back the day they had trained for the first time. His speed was high enough to get past Gaara's first defence. And he did possess many Jutsus. Gaara had to smile at all the Jutsus Kakashi was throwing at him as he tried to break the Barrier of Sand. Still, the fact that Kakashi wasn't panting at all, meant one thing, Gaara concluded. He was still holding back.

"This isn't all you've got… Show me everything." Gaara calmly said and released one of his larger sand waves.

Kakashi dodged and smiled. 'This guy… He's really good. Even my best won't let me defeat him. I don't want to go all out, but Gaara knows I'm holding back… My Chidori should be able to get past his defences…'

Gaara's eyes narrowed as he recognised the Chidori, the very first move that had actually hurt him… He smiled nonetheless. 'True, I haven't moved from this spot at all since we began our sparring, but he can't expect that I'll be standing still when I'm facing an attack like that…'

Kakashi charged forward and watched Gaara jump away, straight into one of his Shadow Clones, who collided with Gaara's Shield of Sand. Gaara landed, turned around and saw another Kakashi charging him with Chidori, while the first was also charging at him from another side. 'Hmm, which one is the real Kakashi?'

Gaara jumped away again and the process repeated itself. Gaara skidded backwards over the ground and performed a few hand seals. 'Time to attack instead of defend…' "Fuuton Renkuudan!!"

Kakashi's eyes visibly widened as huge and above all dangerous wind blast was heading his way. Still, it was just a Shadow Clone and the real Kakashi continued rushing forward. He grew a little worried as Gaara performed the same attack again… This time shooting three huge wind blasts his way. The real Kakashi dodged and his two Clones were defeated. Kakashi quickly performed the Chidori and avoided another wind blast, he then threw it at Gaara, who put all of his defences at front. The air around them was crackling with electricity is the powerful Chidori hit Gaara.

Suddenly, Kakashi's eyes widened as the Gaara crumbled and formed into sand. 'I see… this technique again…'

Kakashi kicked behind him, to find his foot connected with Gaara's automatic shield. Kakashi jumped away.

"From what I have learned… You only have that automatic shield of sand of yours when you have that gourd with you…" Kakashi said as he slightly panted.

Gaara looked at Kakashi without changing expressions. "True, but not anymore. And it isn't automatic anymore. I have to perform the technique and it'll be automatic for about two to three hours. It takes little Chakra, much less than the Barrier or the Armor." Gaara stopped the explanation and folded his arms. "Now, shall we continue?"

Kakashi smiled. "I do have to say thank you… Thanks to you, I can add another technique to my arsenal…" Kakashi performed a few hand seals, while Gaara was slightly impressed. "Fuuton Renkuudan!!"

Gaara jumped out of the way, knowing that the wind blast would rip through his defences. "Perhaps I underestimated you a little, Hatake Kakashi… However, let me show you this…" Gaara closed his eyes and did a one handed seal. "Shukaku Kai…"

Kakashi's Sharingan eye and normal eye widened at the sight. His normal eye saw brownish Chakra around Gaara and his Sharingan indicated a massive amount of it too… 'So, like Naruto, Gaara can control a part of his demon's Chakra?'

Gaara calmly looked at Kakashi. "You won't be able to hit me now… The Jutsu I used allows me to take in a small part of Chakra from my demon, Shukaku. My own regular Chakra is higher than this additional Chakra. I have a third state, in which I get a lot more of Shukaku's Chakra, making me practically invincible…"

Kakashi nervously swallowed. "I'm assuming Naruto can do this too?" 'Damn, these guys are just too strong for their own good…'

Gaara slowly nodded his head. "You lose. There's nowhere you can go…"

Kakashi's eyes widened even more as he saw a huge Sand Wave coming at him from all directions… He quickly gathered Chakra and tried to penetrate one side with a quick and powerful smash. It wasn't powerful enough and Kakashi waited for unconsciousness to grab him.

It never came, as Gaara stopped his attack and lifted Kakashi up to his feet. "You're impressive… There aren't many Shinobi who I have to use my second state against."

Kakashi offered a smile and looked at the others. Lee, Kiba and Anko were all wide-eyed and were gaping at them.

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Time past and it was time for the teams to move out. Shikamaru, Kakashi, Jiraiya and Ibiki were all handed scrolls by the Hokage, who told them to go separate ways and turn back in exactly one week.

Few days later, all the team of Jiraiya had found out was that the Akatsuki had many followers. They hadn't encountered any of the Akatsuki Shinobis, but were forced to kill a few Shinobis who knew that they were after them. They still hadn't find out where the Akatsuki could be. And now, it seemed a few Akatsuki followers were following their tracks. Jiraiya had a feeling this might happen. Still, these Akatsuki followers weren't strong at all. But best to be sure and prepare for the worst.

"Ino, stay behind, hide and try to use the Shintenshin on one of them, try to get some information while on the body. We'll stay close by and observe." Jiraiya commanded. Ino nodded and jumped into a tree, doing her best to conceal her presence. The others went on their way.

It didn't take very long before Ino noticed a trio of men, all dressed in a simple black cloak. She did the familiar hand seals of her Family Jutsu and chose to wait for the right time to use it. From the looks of it, these guys weren't push-overs. She hoped the others were close by…

There, there it was, the moment all of their blind spots were directed at her. Even a Hyuga couldn't spot her, from where the Akatsuki followers were walking. Here she goes…

"Shintenshin no Jutsu." She whispered and controlled the cloud of Chakra that sent her towards the Akatsuki follower who was walking on the left side of the small road.

The other two followers noticed a small pause in their fellow follower. "What's wrong?" One of them asked.

Ino inwardly smirked and added a mental 'Succes!', before replying. "I guess nothing. I thought I sensed something."

The other two nodded and they continued on their way.

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Kakashi was sprinting forward, hunting the last Akatsuki follower, who managed to escape. Gaara and the others had already dealt with the others.

The Akatsuki Follower jumped backwards as soon as he sensed Kakashi's presence before him. He remained standing and faced Kakashi. "Good… This is what I want. A one on one fight is more convenient for me."

Kakashi didn't change his bored expression and analyzed the opponent before him. He couldn't be sure of his speed, since it seemed he wanted Kakashi to catch up. The fight he and his team had against him and his three fellow followers couldn't tell him a lot either, since this particular one wasn't participating in the little battle. So, he just had to improvise. "You're working for the Akatsuki, right? Did you receive orders?"

The man threw him a confident look. "Heh, I'm not telling you anything." He immediately gripped a kunai and charged forward.

Kakashi frowned. 'I see. He's like the others. He charges forward blindly. It's stupid to attack your target head-on… These men are no real Shinobis…'

Kakashi, having used the Mizu Bunshin, dissipated into water as the man tackled him. The real Kakashi immediately used a small electricity attack on the now drenched man, so the electricity would have more effect. 'I have to paralyze him, making him unable to move…' Suddenly, the others jumped into the scenery.

The man was panting heavily and looked at the others. "You'll never manage to make me talk!" The man yelled as he was about to bite his tongue off. Anko immediately threw a few small needles in his neck, forcing him to fall into unconsciousness.

"So, what do we do with him?" Anko asked. "The others were too fast and managed to kill themselves. This one, however, can still talk." She said as she kicked the unconscious man.

Gaara looked at the man on the ground and shook his head. "We should just kill him. He'll bite his tongue off as soon as can."

Rock Lee stayed silent, as he couldn't figure out a way to make the man talk.

"Isn't there a way that makes him unable to use his mouth? So he won't be able to bite off his tongue?" Kiba suddenly asked.

"That would also make him unable to talk, wouldn't it?" Anko immediately and snidely remarked, forcing Kiba to just shut up.

Kakashi sighed. "Yes, I think Gaara is right. There's no use in letting the man live."

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"Hokage-sama…"

Tsunade and Shizune were training on one of the training fields of Konoha, when Itachi had suddenly showed up. They hadn't even noticed his presence.

"Itachi." Tsunade said. "What brings you to me?"

"Do you know that the Fourth has created a Jutsu to make the vessel fight the demon within himself?" Itachi asked.

Tsunade shook her head. "I didn't. Are you planning to use it on Naruto? Or Gaara?" She asked. "So what happens if they get killed by the demon?"

"That question has a positive answer… The demon will not kill the vessel, for in the end, it will get himself killed as well… but if the vessel defeats and kills the demon, everything of the demon simply belongs to the vessel." Itachi answered, shocking Shizune and Tsunade. "If the situation proves too hard, I will use the Jutsu on both Naruto and Gaara. The Akatsuki will have become strong… perhaps even stronger than a demon. But two demons? I think we have a better chance then…"

Tsunade let this sink through her. "Hmmm, what's the downside of the Jutsu??"

Itachi smiled, not thinking Tsunade would actually think there was a bad side… "The demon can get the role of the vessel…"

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"So, when do they enter the area?" Kurenai asked.

"I'd say about three minutes." Naruto answered as he used his nose, but he looked at Hinata for confirmation.

Hinata nodded as her Byakugan indicated the same thing. "Naruto-kun is correct. They're with four."

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, I guess I'll use my Shadow Bind on them… They won't be able to move then. After that Kurenai and Hinata will begin by performing torturing Genjutsu after Genjutsu on them, because any physical torture will affect me as well…" He explained as he looked at Naruto. "So, Naruto, Temari… In this situation, you are only going to observe, unless they manage to escape my Shadow Bind in the beginning."

Temari nodded and didn't react in any other way as she waited for Shikamaru to continue.

Naruto sighed. "Man… that's not going to happen… I wanted to have some action… Can I fight them when you're done with them?"

Shikamaru sighed and continued with his explanation. "Continue your Genjutsus until they falter. But do know that I can only hold the Shadow Bind for about an hour on one time, it takes more Chakra the longer I use it. But after that, I can use it again, but the enemy will probably jump away as soon as they can."

"And afterwards… Yeah, I think Naruto and Temari should deal with them…"

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Three black cloaked men were being assaulted by three other men, who all looked the completely same. All three suddenly yelled. "64 Opening Points Attack!"

The three Akatsuki followers slumped to the ground, completely battered and exhausted. Neji let his two clones disappear and glanced over his shoulder. "Your turn, Ibiki."

Ibiki, being the leader of the ANBU interrogation squad, smirked evilly and began to have his way with the three Akatsuki followers, starting with "Don't bother biting off your tongue… I have other ways to gather information…" While chuckling madly as he started performing hand seals.

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"So, what are we going to do with them?" Ino, inside the man's body, asked.

The other two frowned at him/her. "You already know we will probably get killed. Our objective is to simply try and slow them down on their way. Never should we let them know anything we know. When they try, we bite our tongues off, remember?" One answered, looking at the third(Ino) suspiciously.

Ino nodded. "Of course…" Ino started to think about it. "What if they find out or already know what we know?"

"They can't. There is no way they can. All of us have been ordered to counter the enemy any way possible, at the same time not revealing anything. You already know this. What is wrong with you?" On of the two asked as he stopped walking and looked at the other man(Ino).

Ino nervously swallowed. "Nothing… I'm just nervous about it, that's all."

The other man frowned even more. "Nervous? You? What happened to the 'If you guys fail, I will kill you myself!', huh?"

Ino sighed inwardly. 'Of course, I had to invade someone who is totally different from myself.'

The two man glanced at each other and nodded. "As ordered, when one or more start acting strangely… They who are more stabilized and focused on their mission should kill the weak or less confidents…"

Ino's eyes widened. Time to us e anew technique she learned… "Shintenshin: Daigae!"

The two men's eyes widened as the once fellow follower changed, with a puff of smoke, into a blonde haired girl, who was also gripping an impressive looking sword.

Back where Ino had been hiding in tree where she had invaded the Akatsuki follower, the Akatsuki follower had appeared, exactly where Ino once was. Totally confused, he fell out of the tree.

Back to Ino… "Alright, you figured me out!" Ino yelled as she gripped her sword more tightly.

The two men were still totally confused as they stared at blonde woman before them. "What… How?" They both uttered.

"Heh! I got into your partner's skin easily! But now that you found me out, I used a substitution technique! He is now way back there!!" Ino yelled as she motioned towards the road behind her with her head. "And since you're not revealing anything, it's no use trying to peel secrets off of you."

The two men straightened up and went into a fighting stance. "We won't falter easily, woman!"

Ino grinned. "Let me start this off with the… Yanagi no Mai…" The Dance of the Willows…

The men frowned as Ino started a vicious combo of slashing her sword at both their heads in exact precision. Of course, they dodged as best as they could, but couldn't avoid getting slashed at certain parts on their body.

Jiraiya, Sasuke, Sakura and Chouji jumped out of a tree not far from them and observed the scenery. Sasuke's eyes had widened a little bit. 'That's one of… Kimimaro's dances… Has Ino mastered all of them?' He thought before he narrowed his eyes. "Hmph… I know that one as well…"

In a short while, Ino's 'Dance' ended, leaving the two men utterly defeated, but not dead, on the ground. Suddenly, from behind, the third man, who Ino had invaded before, appeared and was rushing towards Ino. Chouji easily expanded his entire arm and grabbed the man, before he could attack Ino. He let the man smash into a few trees, before he smashed him hard in the ground.

Ino sighed as they suddenly heard all of the three man mumble in pain. They had bitten their tongue off…

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Exactly a week later, all of the teams stood in the Hokage Tower, in front of Tsunade's desk..

Tsunade was busy throwing what had to be a hundred scrolls to the side. She scratched the back of her head as she said. "Don't mind the mess I just made. So, report!"

Gai enthusiastically stepped forward, in contrast to the lazy looking Shikamaru and Jiraiya and Kakashi, who looked a little more bored than lazy.

"Hokage-sama" He started with a bow. "Morino Ibiki managed to gather information, but not much. All we know is the Akatsuki need time to prepare for whatever they are planning. It seems they have followers roaming the lands, followers who are intent on making sure we won't know anything. Most of the followers are Chuunin Level, we didn't encounter any stronger ones."

Tsunade nodded. "Next."

Kakashi looked at Shikamaru, who shrugged and looked at Jiraiya, who looked at Kakashi. All three of them sighed at the same time, but no one took a step forward.

Tsunade frowned. "Hurry up! You lazy idiots!"

Jiraiya stepped forward. "Uhh, well. We knew as much as Gai's team… but not more, actually…" Jiraiya said as he scratched the back his head with a grin. 'Besides that, I have an extremely boring team… None of them even bothered to visit a few bathhouses. Damn them! And Ino and Sakura wouldn't even let me sleep close to them…' Jiraiya inwardly sobbed.

Kakashi stepped forward after Jiraiya and bowed, something Jiraiya forgot doing. "Hokage-sama. We didn't even manage to gather the information the other teams have gathered."

Tsunade sighed. "You guys are hopeless. Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru lazily bowed and yawned afterwards. ""Hokage-sama. We managed to get more information than the others. Since they couldn't bite their tongue off because of my Kage Mane no Jutsu, Kurenai and Hinata enjoyed torturing them with Genjutsu. And hen they talked."

Tsunade motioned to Shikamaru to continue, but when Shikamaru simply stared forward, as if he was daydreaming, Tsunade snapped her fingers. "Well?!" She asked, frustrated.

"Oh! Well… The troublesome thing is… It wasn't much anyway." Shikamaru sighed, hating to be in a troublesome situation. "One of them said… Look not for the light, but for the hard."

Tsunade frowned. "Which means?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "I don't know…"

Everyone went of the sentence once, but none of them knew what it meant. "Well, you're the genius here, figure it out, Nara!" Tsunade bellowed.

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "That's not fair! And I never said I was a genius, you guys simply think that way. Anyway, I think with the no light thing it means they're somewhere where it's always dark. And with the hard thing… well, what's hard? Fire is hot, Water is… water and not hard." Shikamaru said, making the others sweat drop. "I know that doesn't take a genius…" He mumbled and continued. "When you think about it in Villages… well, Lightning and Wind can be hard, if used against you, but literally, Earth is the Village to go for, right? I think Earth is hard, especially Stone. But I still don't know about the 'no light' thing."

Tsunade frowned. "That's your theory?"

Shikamaru frowned right back. "What? I never said I'm a genius, ok?!"

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In a Ramen Stand, Iruka, Konohamaru and Naruto were having, well… Ramen. After Naruto's mission, Naruto had quickly searched Iruka and Konohamaru up, inviting them for Ramen. It was still shocking to see Iruka in a Jounin outfit and Konohamaru with Konoha head band on his forehead.

"Naruto-nii-san! You've changed so much!" Konohamaru yelled.

Naruto smirked. "Well, a lot can happen in five years! Right, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka nodded. "Yeah. I've become a Jounin, you kind of a Missing-nin and Konohamaru a Genin. A pretty strong one at that, right Konohamaru?"

Konohamaru proudly nodded. "Yep! Nara-sensei says so too!"

Naruto frowned. "Nara? Who's that?" He asked as the waiter came around, putting down three bowls of Ramen.

Iruka grabbed his bowl and stared at it, before answering. "Nara Shikamaru is his teacher."

Naruto smiled at that. "Ah? I bet he whines a lot, huh? Heh, gotta respect the guy, though. He's really smart!"

Konohamaru, instead of listening to Naruto, had already started eating his Ramen. Naruto sighed before he smiled and started on his bowl as well. 'I bet the brat didn't even hear me…'

"Ne, Naruto? How was your mission?" Iruka asked after he found himself staring at an empty bowl.

Naruto grabbed a third bowl of Ramen and answered. "Boring. It's nice to have Shikamaru as group leader, but leave it to him to settle things without fighting."

"But that's good, right?" Iruka asked. "Fighting's not always good, you know."

Naruto and Konohamaru frowned at that. "But it sure as hell is fun, right, Konohamaru?"

"If you're sure you're going to win, yeah!" Konohamaru responded. "But I got beaten a few times in fights. It's no fun!"

Naruto chuckled. "Hehe, well that's just a part of fighting, at least you survived! Do you have any dangerous missions as a Jounin, Iruka-sensei?" He said, turning to Iruka.

"Me? Well mostly solo B-ranked missions or together with Shigeru a few A-ranked missions. Nothing really bad. There was this one time, we both got nearly killed… We encountered to of those Akatsuki Shinobis. Don't remember their names, only that they were male and female. One used sound as a weapon and the other used razor sharp leaves and could even control trees to attack us. They were much stronger than us."

Naruto listened intently. "Sound and trees?"

"But they didn't kill you, Iruka-sensei?" Konohamaru said/yelled.

"Nope. Some guy showed up and they left with him. Only thing I know is he wore glasses. Shigeru was out cold and I was unconscious a few seconds after that as well. A few villagers found us and took care of us."

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Author's Note: Ok, got a few questions again…

First, did you think it was wrong to let Ino have Kimimaro's Dance of the Willows?

Second, what's the name of that sword technique Gekkou Hayate used against Baki?

Third, what is Iruka's full name?

Fourth, do you guys have any idea what I meant with 'Look not for the light, but for the hard' thing? (It's really stupid but I wanted to sound interesting and failed.)

Fifth, I really need a few Akimichi Techniques… Please, anyone?

Well, that's it. I won't be updating for a long time now… I'm done studying, now the exams really start! I hope I studied enough! In the weekend I'll be re-studying, so to say, or is it extra-studying? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! So, are you guys ready for the war, by the way? And!!! Be prepared, because when Itachi uses that special Jutsu on Naruto and Gaara it will be so cool… at least that's what I think! Oh, and Ino's new Jutsu was something alone the lines of a… Substitution. She used her advanced Shintenshin to just transfer her body to her mind and put the body she was in back to where her real body was. Doesn't take too much Chakra and only Yamanakas can use it. It is somewhat similar to Sasuke's Switch Technique, but not really, Sasuke has to see his opponent to be able to do it.

Well, that was it! Goodbye!


	17. The War

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: Ok, I changed the Spore guy's name from Kinoko to Kinokomaru! There are many new skills in this chapter, but I removed the Jutsu List. I'll put it up soon again, I almost finished it, I have it in alphabetic order now. Ino only knows the first two dances of the Kaguya Clan, the Dance of the Camellia and the Dance of the Willows. Ino has two swords and a bow wrapped on her back, with arrows on her hip.

OMG! This chapter has 10.000 words, ten thousand!!! Man, I never did a 10000 word chapter before. It went surprisingly fast. I began Saturday night…

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Review Reply Corner:

**Misu** **no** **Yami**: Heh, I do hope it will be fun…Thanks for the review!

**Lady** **Light**: Yep, I changed the order of chapters, this one's chappie 17, hope you enjoy and thanks for reviewing!

**Pyr00tje**: Heh, hiya, Pyr00! Uh, well, many thanks for thinking up a few Akimichi Techniques!! ;) Thanks for the review, man.

**Sirus183**: Thanks! I'm glad you didn't think it was wrong to give Ino one of the dances.

**CurlsofSerenity**: Hehe, you spelled torturing right, right? But I never said they enjoyed torturing, did I? Thanks for liking the story!

**Zsych**: Heh, now who would dislike Kyuubi? Kyuubi is a great guy! I bet if you ask him, he would share a beer or two. Pill more powerful than the other pills of the Akimichi Clan? Well, I think they'd be more than deadly then, right? They'd probably kill everyone around them by exploding or something. And about Ino, I think she can only do the Dance of the Camellia, the Dance of the Willows (with two swords) and the Dance of the Crescent Moon. And you're right about Neji having a distance attack version of the 64 Tenketsu attack… I'll think it over… About the demon fights… those will be really sweet… hehe, anyway. Because of your mentioning about the Kuchiyose Edo-Tensei and Fourth Hokage, I've got a new idea, but not for this book :P. And for Sasuke, I'm not giving him more than the Curse Seal level 2. He's going to find a way to get rid of that Curse Seal and get stronger without it. Doujutsu is just advanced TaiJutsu and Hijutsu is similar to Bloodline Limits or certain techniques only certain individuals can learn, that's why I though Rasengan was a Hijutsu. That vampire fic, would be a major AU… But for that, you also need to know everything about vampires, all those myths and stories involved with it, you know, those deeper meanings to it. I'm really not good for that, maybe you should try to write that AU Vampire/Naruto fic?

**Rokudaime**: Heh, many thanks, I appreciate it!

**Hattuteline**: Yep, I've noticed the strange kinda… atmosphere… that hovers above the text and I think it can be explained because I'm just not good with reunion description writing. Oh well shrugs, I hope this chapter won't be 'off' like that… Have to read over it a few times to know for sure.

**Moonlight's** **Shadow**: Indeed, though those last three dances Kimimaro uses are impossible for Ino to perform. Uhmm, well, I was actually kinda looking for new techniques, techniques you can make up, y'know? Neway, many thanks for the review!!

**Moonlight** **Shadow**: Looks at name and name of the previous reviewer Well, judging by your names one would think you're just the same person, but from the contents of the review… Err, anyway! You're right! The move is indeed called the Dance of the Crescent Moon, or Mikazuki no Mai.

**Tenshinotabris**: Wow! You're the only who suggested it was a cave. Heh, impressive, I though that riddle of mine was just a stupid thing to let the Akatsuki Followers say. Oh well, Thanks for the review!!

**Nobuyasha**: Hehe, Metal Village. Yep, also a possibility, but there's a village which already exists in is always 'Hard', so to say. Thanks for reviewing!

**SilverKnight7**: Heh, thanks for loving my story!! Here's an update! Hope you enjoy!

**:D**: Heh, many thanks!! Leaf Dance? Oh Umino means dolphin or Iruka? Thanks for reviewing!

**EvilP**: Heh, well many people think many times… or sumthin like that… Anyway, the OCs enter in this chapter, so better prepare yourself, heh, sorry. Thanks for the review!

**Hotaru**-**chan**: Ah, many thanks! I'm glad you liked the chapter! And thanks for reviewing!

**Aki** **no** **Tenshi**: Thanks, thanks and… well, thanks! Here's the next chapter, I hope you'll enjoy!

**EfrainMan**: Heh, yep, everyone's really powerful!! Isn't that just nice? Or isn't it? wonders Thanks for the review!

**Dark** **Phoenix**: Heh, I'm glad you like the story!! Here's the next chapter!

**Metaphor**-**sama**: You're right, Ino knows the Shinranshin no Jutsu. Hehe, well, I'm sorry, but you're wrong about that lil riddle. :P It's really a stupid riddle, though.

**Trickmaster**: Heh, well, the Meat Tank is a technique already known, I wanted a few new techniques, like, well, being able to slide your arms under the ground and lift up an entire plateau by just making the arms bigger. Oh well, thanks for the review!

**Chinkpig**: One thing is sure, the riddle is indeed based on something on earth, heh… Dance of the willow is possible if Ino has two swords… which she has :P. Thanks for reviewing!

**FlareofDragon**: Well, as I stated in earlier chapters, pairing won't come for now, later on. But here's the update! Thanks for reviewing!!

**Lemmings12**: Yeah, Kimimaro was from the Kaguya Clan, I know. I do wonder what Village the Clan lived in. Oh well, a few techniques are possible to learn, best not to go let everything go to waste. (gr?)

**Drunkencow**: Yep, I have the Jutsu List in alphabetic order and it'll be up one of these days. I don't know if Hinata has the Senshin-Byakugan…. Well, here's an update, you can put those knives down now… Heh, thanks for reviewing!

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"So basically, I want you all to check those places first, ok?" Shikamaru asked as he stood next to the Hokage and Shizune.

Before the three of them, Umino Iruka, Sarutobi Shigeru, Genma and Aoba were being informed about their mission.

"A few Chuunins will be accompanying your on your mission." Tsunade added. "Your mission is just to observe, come back and report. Do not go into battle."

Shikamaru somehow thought the line 'Look not for the light, but for the hard' as in Earth Country, Stone Village, the only Village and Country that could be 'Hard' and with the no light thing he suggested looking for places where it's always dark, as in caves or places underground, where the sun would be unable to reach with its rays...

**There Where When is Now**

**Chapter 17**

Umino Iruka wasn't one to leave his comrades to fate and neither were his fellow Jounin team mates, Genma, Aoba and Shigeru. They had been investigating in Stone Village so far, only to find most of it levelled to the ground. When they entered the Stone Village, many Akatsuki followers were trying to get them to leave. When they got dealt with, a few Akatsuki members showed up and four of the eight Chuunins who came with them were already killed now, while the other four were trying to stay alive.

"Shigeru-san… Do we ignore the Hokage's orders?" Iruka asked as he glanced at Shigeru for one second, just to stare right back at his opponents.

"It won't matter this situation, Umino-san. They won't let us leave, now that we know their position. And I'm not going down without a fight." Genma let out. He watched the four Chuunins jump back and land behind him, Iruka, Aoba and Sarutobi. "Let's begin then…"

The two Akatsuki members they were facing were Doro Odei, An ex-Sand Shinobi and Sukumi Tachi, and ex-Stone Shinobi. "Heh, we take no prisoners, just to let you know…"

Iruka began a few seals and yelled "Jishin no Jutsu!!" The ground around them was shaking. "Not to worry, I can control this with my Chakra…" Iruka said, mostly to the worried Chuunins.

The two Akatsuki Members didn't seem impressed. Sukumi Tachi even grinned. "I have the same Jutsu, let's see who's got the better one…" He performed the seals. "Jishin no Jutsu!!"

The struggle of control of the two earthquakes that were rumbling against each other was pretty fierce. Doro Odei sighed. "We don't have time to play too much, Sukumi." He easily dodged the sudden appearance of Genma's fist to his left and guarded the bash Aoba had in mind with his Shield of Wind. "There's no use trying to attack me with weak attacks like that."

Shigeru grinned as Doro looked dumbfounded. "What..?! How can you throw that many attacks at me?!?!"

Shigeru had created a Genjutsu and it made Doro see Genma and Aoba throw like a dozen attacks at him at once, all powerful. All the Genjutsu was meant for was an opening. Genma and Aoba were now approaching Sukumi from a blind angle.

They both got washed away by Doro's Wind Shield. Doro chuckled as the Genjutsu disappeared. "Heh, my Shield of Wind is automatic." He turned to Shigeru. "Nice Genjutsu, though…"

Iruka was blown backwards as he lost the struggle against Sukumi and as he landed he immediately got trapped in boulders Sukumi had control over. Sukumi wanted to crush Iruka, but noticed the four Chuunins coming to his rescue. He easily dodged all of their attacks and he made it rain boulders on them. Iruka's eyes widened as a large boulder landed on one of the Chuunins head, cracking the skull open. Iruka released all of his Chakra and was able to escape the Stone Bind Sukumi had put on him. He was too late to save another Chuunin's life as he got trapped between three boulders and found himself face to face with a kunai, which entered his face seconds later.

Iruka jumped up and performed a few hand seals. As he landed with a smashing blast, the wave of the blast fully hit Sukumi and he was blown backwards. He easily landed on his feet. "Heh, is this all you've got to offer me, Jounin?"

Iruka gritted his teeth. 'Damn, all my Jutsus are like… his Jutsus… So he knows how to get by them. Also, he's more powerful than me… definitely.'

Iruka braced himself as Sukumi rushed at him, only to see him get attacked by the two remaining Chuunins, who managed to keep him busy. 'I have no Jutsus that can really hurt this guy…' Iruka performed seals anyway. 'This is my best Jutsu, it better do some damage…' "Ugatsu no Horinuku!!"

Sukumi's eyes widened as he saw Iruka place his hands on the ground and watched the ground rise above all of them. He saw how it was controlled by Iruka's Chakra and noticed a sharp end of a lot of ground that had changed into a long and huge boulder. 'Shit… that's a big one, I can't avoid it… I see one solution…'

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Come forth, Umajiro!!"

Iruka managed to swallow in all his shock. His ultimate attack got stopped by a… by a huge Armadillo… 'Damn it… As far as I know, neither of us have summons, we're doomed…'

Meanwhile, Genma and Aoba had met the vicious wind attacks of Doro and Shigeru was trying to fool the guy with Genjutsu, but didn't managed as Doro simply released a gust of wind to dispel it. Shortly after, all of them had noticed the animal Sukumi had summoned. Doro grinned. "Time to finish this off, insects! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

And before Doro stood a humongous hawk, who didn't have time to do anything as all of a sudden, a gigantic snake came from under ground and wrapped himself all around the gigantic Hawk. The Hawk immediately disappeared with a lot of smoke.

Doro's eyes widened a great deal. 'That Summon… That's Manda!' Doro quickly looked up to see both Orochimaru and Hatsu stand on top of Manda's head. 'Its two masters…'

Manda turned to face the huge Armadillo. The staring between the two great summons was interrupted as an unknown woman appeared out of nowhere. Kinuta Teri, appeared from behind Orochimaru and Hatsu and also yelled "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

Teri jumped on top of the head of the huge Hyena she had just summoned. "Ayeen… We have big battle here…"

Doro snarled and bowed to the unknown woman. The unknown woman also turned to Sukumi on the Armadillo, Umajiro's head and nodded her head once, on which Sukumi let his summon disappear and also bowed to the woman. It seemed she meant that this was her fight alone…

Orochimaru and Hatsu frowned, as did Teri as they stood on their summons. Orochimaru jumped off of Manda's head and landed close to the Konoha Jounins. "Go report back to your village now!! Your ability and presence are nothing but hindrance in this battle, leave."

Genma, Iruka, Shigeru, Aoba and the two remaining Chuunins nodded, obeyed and left the scenery, all looking back once.

The woman before Manda and Ayeen, Teri's Hyena chuckled. "Manda and Ayeen, ey? This is perfect…"

Orochimaru's eyes widened as the woman didn't even perform seals before she announced the "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Ryuukio…"

A huge dragon stood before the huge snake and Hyena and its breath was hot enough to make the other summons shudder, even Manda… The woman disappeared and reappeared on the Dragon's head. "Let's see what you can do against my summon…."

Orochimaru quickly performed many difficult seals. Manda and Ayeen prepared themselves.

Orochimaru was done with his seals. "Taiyuu Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

Before Orochimaru were seven big snakes, slightly smaller than Manda. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at the woman. 'This is not good… She has finished learning the techniques of all the Hidden scrolls… Her being able to summon that dragon is proof for it… This will be very hard…'

Hatsu on Manda spoke up. "Manda, time to use Doku Amaashi and Doku Hanasu." Manda didn't respond as he simply stared the large dragon down.** "I'll do it, but know that this one is out of our league!!"**

Manda expanded his own height and towered above the Dragon, but not much. **"Doku Amaashi!"**

Huge drops of poison were falling down on the dragon, but the dragon disappeared and appeared above Manda, landing harshly on him, making Manda disappear and Hatsu was barely saved between the Dragon's feet. Teri and her summon rushed towards the Dragon and all of Orochimaru's snakes did the same. The Dragon released a huge wave of fire, which quickly dealt with the snakes and blocked Teri's Hyena's attacks with his arms and tail. The Hyena suddenly screeched loudly and Orochimaru winced as his ears began to hurt, before falling to the ground.

Teri appeared on Orochimaru's side, picked him up and ran to Hatsu, picked him up and slung him over her other shoulder and ran away from the scene. "Keep him busy, Ayeen!! But don't die!!"

Teri's eyes widened as, no second later, Ayeen disappeared with a lot of smoke. Teri turned to see the huge dragon and its owner look at her. The woman suddenly appeared in front of her, while the dragon disappeared.

"How disappointing you were… Go, run, it's not like it matters. I don't want to kill everyone; I just want to rule over everyone. Go to Konoha, the biggest Village, and tell them we're coming…"

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Naruto and Jiraiya were training with each other again, as they did mostly these days. Often enough Sasuke and Kakashi joined them and Gaara and Neji less often than them.

"Oy, Jiraiya…" Naruto began. It took a lot for Jiraiya to make Naruto actually say his name, but that Naruto had grown older and…slightly…more mature, it was easier to persuade him. "I remember that technique you used on Itachi and Kisame the first time I saw them… Do you remember? You said something about being in your stomach?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Heh, you can't learn that one, Naruto. It's sort of like a Bloodline Technique, but at the same time, it isn't. You can learn it, not from another, but from own experience. I had travelled far and long and my relationships with the frogs I summon grew. I had to go through hardships to be where I am today, considering the usage of Jutsus where frog abilities come in handy."

Naruto pouted. "Hmph, that's so boring! I wanted a new Jutsu and I've been wanting to have that one…" Naruto groaned. "Well…" He sighed again. "Let's start training, then."

Jiraiya smiled and performed the "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

Naruto grew slightly nervous as he stared at GamaBunta, who stared right back.

**"If it isn't Naruto… It's been very long since I've seen that ugly face, you've grown older. Oy, Jiraiya! Has he turned bad? Must we fight him now?"** GamaBunta asked.

Jiraiya chuckled, while on top of GamaBunta's head. "No, he's not a bad guy. But we do have to go all out, GamaBunta! He's become one tough guy…"

Naruto didn't know how GamaBunta thought of him, but didn't worry about it and performed the easy hand seals instead. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

And before Naruto stood… a huge bear… Naruto grinned. "Meet Oguma… My Bear… The Boss of the Bears."

GamaBunta gripped his Katana and got ready.

Naruto grinned as Oguma simply stomped his right foot once in the ground, which caused a small earthquake and also made the ground under GamaBunta shoot skywards, thus launching GamaBunta backwards. Naruto grinned even more.

Oguma rushed forward in high speed, immediately heading for GamaBunta had landed. **"Oy, Naruto! What's the deal? This a life and death battle?"**

Naruto shook his head. "No, no! This is training!" Even though the Bear was running in high speed, Naruto was simply standing on the bear's head, using Chakra to stay in one spot.

GamaBunta slashed his katana immediately as he saw the bear approach. He was amazed the bear took the hit in the left arm but continued rushing forward. GamaBunta's eyes widened as the Bear tackled him with a lot of force…

Jiraiya held onto GamaBunta as much as he could. 'What the…! Naruto's summon is incredibly powerful, he takes a hit like that and just continues on!'

GamaBunta rolled backwards and rose, staring at his opponent afterwards.** 'So this is how the bear fights… He probably has an enormous endurance… Hits like that he feels, but not much, he simply goes all out, making all his power go into the simple attack he performs… I bet the bear can only perform physical attacks, or perhaps Earth Attacks… I have to fight from a distance and avoid the attacks.'**

Oguma, the bear, tried to look at Naruto, who on top of his head.** "Naruto, I think he knows how I fight my battles. How about you summon Omigo?"**

Naruto frowned. "What?! But that wouldn't be fair!! It would be two against one!! I'm all for fair play, Oguma!! Besides, as soon as you or Omigo gets hurt, the other goes completely out of control. Remember what happened last time I summoned the both of you?"

Oguma groaned, hating to be reminded as he got hurt and Omigo had gone in a frenzy state, killing everything in her sight. It was even more emberassing because it was HIM who got knocked out in that situation.** "Ah, shut up! Besides, this toad seems to be a strong summon! And probably smart too!"**

Naruto shook his head and saw GamaBunta jumped backwards. "Ey, Oguma, heads up!"

Oguma watched as four giant sized waterballs came out of GamaBunta's and were all heading for him. The bear crouched and made himself smaller, before rolling to the side, avoiding the four waterballs.

GamaBunta threw his Katana towards Oguma. Oguma heard it soar past his head, but he also heard it fly right back again.** 'So he throws it like a… boomerang…'**

The Bear grinned and caught the Katana, surprising both GamaBunta and Jiraiya. Jiraiya suddenly yelled. "GamaBunta, time for some oil!!"

As GamaBunta spitted out lots of oil, Jiraiya threw in a lot of fire, creating a huge wave of fire nearing Oguma and Naruto fast. Oguma was hit head on, while Naruto had protected himself by hiding himself on Oguma's back. 'Phew, that's one big attack…'

**"Naruto!! I hate attacks like that!! Why didn't you warn me he had one of those?! Now I'm… black… all over, damnit!! Summon Omigo, would ya?!"** Oguma angrily yelled, being burned in several places.

Jiraiya's eyes were widened. "Well… well damn… He simply took our best attack like that… Even Manda would be sore all over, but he's just standing there and complaining."

GamaBunta nodded his head. **"Yes, this one has a major endurance, but he lacks high intelligence and he has no distance attacks,"**

All of a sudden, Naruto caught sight of the opening of the Konoha Gates. From how high he was, on Oguma's head, he could see everything. "Jiraiya! Let's stop! I smell that Iruka-sensei's back from his mission!"

Jiraiya smiled as he nodded GamaBunta goodbye and Naruto did the same to Oguma. "I see. I wonder what they found out."

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"Just bring the Hokage here!"

The two guards looked very fierce as they stared at the Shinobi before them. They looked at each other before turning back. "We can't let you in yet! State your name and purpose!"

"But they saved us, they can be trusted!" Iruka yelled from inside Konoha at the two guards.

One of the guards replied. "That's not good enough, Iruka!" He turned back to the three Shinobis. "State your name!"

Suddenly, Naruto and Jiraiya appeared on the scene. Both guards bowed before Jiraiya immediately. "Jiraiya-sama."

"Heh, seems like you're being respected in this Village. Not surprising as it is as ignorant as it is powerful." A playful voice said.

Jiraiya turned to the worn old Kabuto and his look hardened a second later. "Orochimaru. Do you want to die? It looks like it, entering Konoha like this." Jiraiya said. "There's no way you'll survive."

"Ah, the nine-tails brat, huh?" Orochimaru said, ignoring Jiraiya. "I didn't come here to fight, Jiraiya, Naruto-kun. The Akatsuki told us to deliver a message to this village."

Jiraiya didn't trust this at all as was evident by the featured on his face. "You're working for the Akatsuki again?"

Orochimaru shook his head. "No. I'm against them."

The sudden appearance of the Hokage stopped their discussion.

"How are you doing, Tsunade?" Orochimaru greeted in a sing-song voice. "Or should I say, Hokage-sama?" He said, rather mocking.

Tsunade stared… she stared at him hard. "Orochimaru. What makes you think you'll live longer than one minute from now."

"I'm surprised you give me that long. But to answer that, the Akatsuki is ready and I expect they will be on the move soon. We just encountered them and I just… wanted to be an ally with my old Village." Orochimaru told, all the while with a grin.

Tsunade snorted. "Yeah right! What makes you think I'll believe a treacherous snake like yourself! We should kill you right here and now! You're a fool to come here like this, Orochimaru!"

"Hokage-sama. It's true. They saved us from the Akatsuki. It is true that they're located in the Stone Village. We encountered many Akatsuki followers and then all o a sudden, from under the ground, three very strong Shinobi appeared. We couldn't handle it, but these three saves us. We've lost six of the eight Shinobi, Hokage-sama." Iruka reported, head down in shame for having lost six Chuunins.

Tsunade still didn't seem satisfied. "Orochimaru, you will stay where Jiraiya is staying! Same room!!"

"What?!" Two voices yelled.

"And you two, who are you?!" Tsunade demanded.

"Teri Kinuta and Hatsu Heishou." Teri said, speaking for the both of them. "We were also, once of the Akatsuki, but now no longer. We will act as an ally to the Leaf."

Tsunade snorted. "Hmph, fine, go and try to find a place to sleep."

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It was night and the other was still out collecting information. He was silently hopping from tree to tree, hoping to be able to reach his destination in silence. He just had to find him, to be able to grasp his goal and actually embrace it, have it, forever…

Orochimaru landed on the roof of a small apartment. He had come to know of where Sasuke lived, and was surprised to find the Uchiha houses all gone. As he was about to slip down, he noticed another presence just beside him.

"Don't… Move any closer to Uchiha Sasuke and die. We have been warned about this… Orochimaru."

Orochimaru looked straight in the eyes of an Aburame. "ANBU, ey? I won't let one small ANBU stand in my way."

Shino simply pointed his finger to another house. Orochimaru followed the trail and watched about a whole group of ANBU positioned on another roof, facing Sasuke's roof. 'More ANBU… damn.'

Shino continued. "That is my team. For the actions you make now various decisions shall be made. Attack us and… simply die. Turn back and this will be viewed upon as an accident. Hokage-sama's orders. Because it seems there's a small change you'll make a difference in our battle with the Akatsuki. But make one wrong move… and we'll kill you."

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It was such a nice feeling. Under the sheets, where the warmth was just so comfortable. Today training would begin a little later, he decided with a enjoyable yawn. He rolled under the sheets, making his body enjoy the warmth even more. He sighed in total bliss as he buried his head in his pillow.

In the same room, Neji and Gaara were doing very much the same. Gaara even more so, since he had been unable to do so because of the Sand Demon within. But now he no longer had those problems because of the Fourth's Seal.

So it was only natural that no one responded to the knocking on the door. Itachi, Dareda, Mokito, Kisame and Sinobi were all sleeping in another room, but were probably doing the very same thing Neji, Gaara and Naruto were doing. Expanding their sleeping time…

Naruto's eyes opened just slightly at the sound of knocking at his door.

"Other time… Now…" Naruto already fell back to sleep.

Neji rose a little bit and activated his Byakugan to see who was at the door. He laid back down and closed his eyes. "Naruto, your old team mate is at the door."

Naruto groaned even in his sleep as he heard Neji say that. Gaara was simply sleeping.

"Naruto!!!" A voice screeched through the door, throughout the house.

But no one reacted on it, not even Naruto, who was snoring. Only Neji was a little more awake.

"Naruto!!!" There it was again, Neji looked at Naruto's sleeping form.

'How can one not hear an annoying voice like that? Even in your sleep.' Neji shrugged. 'I guess everyone in this house except for me.'

Neji came out of his bed, got dressed and had to hear three more annoying yells. 'Damn Naruto, making me open the door for you. You're lucky I'm so polite to let people sleep when they're enjoying their sleep. I hope this person isn't like me in this case.' Neji thought as he opened the door.

"What do you want?" Neji greeted.

Sakura's widened eyes indicated surprise. Probably because this was Naruto's house and he was there. Well, almost everyone knew they all lived here. No need to still act surprised about it, Neji figured. He frowned as Sakura hadn't answered yet.

"So, you come here, yell me awake with annoying screeches and then you say nothing? What's your problem?" Neji seriously asked.

Sakura blushed slightly. "I… just wanted to talk to Naruto."

Neji frowned. "It's early. Too early. He's still asleep. Everyone's asleep, except for me, thanks to you. You should be spending this time training, instead of visiting Naruto."

"But… I want to talk to him. Can I… Can I come inside?" Sakura asked politely.

Neji shrugged. "Fine. I'm going to try and get back to sleep. Follow me and you'll see Naruto sleep. Don't try to make too much noise or try to awake them with a yell or something. They get cranky then, like I am now." Neji said as he was walking to the bedroom, with Sakura behind him.

Sakura kneeled down to watch Naruto sleep and cautiously shook him, trying to wake him. "Naruto… Naruto…" She whispered.

She turned at the sound of Neji getting back to his bed and turned back to Naruto after that. "Naruto…" She whispered again. Now she held his nose and his mouth closed.

Naruto frantically moved around, trying to breathe during his sleeping did make him awake. His eyes opened to see Sakura. "Sa… Sakura?" He mumbled in a sleepy voice. "Ittoo early…" He whined as he closed his eyes again.

Sakura groaned softly and repeated the previous way of waking him up.

Naruto awoke again and this time Sakura talked. "Naruto, could you come with me? Out? Talk about old days? We'll go to Sasuke too, then, ok?"

Naruto stared at her for about ten seconds, before closing his eyes again and falling back to sleep. Sakura gritted her teeth.

An hour later, a little more.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

Before Sakura or the still sleepy Naruto could answer him, many ANBU ran past them towards the Hokage Tower. One stopped after seeing them and walked towards them.

"Excuse me. But the Akatsuki are approaching. They should be here in about three hours, they're just… walking calmly… Could you help me waking the other people up?"

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura all nodded and leaped away, after that, the ANBU also leaped away.

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They were all ready now… ready to fight anyway… Most of them hadn't even been in a real war, but they were still ready. Shikamaru was pointing out what everyone was to do.

"I want all Jounins above age 25 to stand by the Gates and on the Walls of Konoha. All younger Jounins guard the area after that, being backed up by the Chuunins, Genins will be charging the Akatsuki followers all around. Jiraiya is to stay with the Hokage."

Naruto stuck his finger up in the air, also waving his entire arm for attention.

Shikamaru muttered something like 'how troublesome questions were' and 'damn Naruto' under his breath, before replying. "What, Naruto?"

"Well! Ano… Well, what are we? Chuunins, Jounins?"

Shikamaru sighed. "You're a missing-nin. Just go wherever you want to go, as long as you take out lots of enemies."

"They should be arriving… right about now…" One of the ANBU suddenly interjected.

"Defend Konoha with all you've got!!" Tsunade yelled. 'I hope it doesn't come to… to 'that'…'

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The fight had already begun. There were hundreds and hundreds of them, everywhere, simple followers, but people nonetheless. Kakashi was killing them one after another. To his left he saw Gai doing the same thing. Kurenai and Asuma were close by.

A few meters ahead, Kakashi saw the Kaiten being performed, on the other side, more yelling was heard as more were killed...

Suddenly, a somewhat stronger sense of Chakra swept through Kakashi. He immediately looked to the source, to find one of the Akatsuki Members, an old woman with a silk cloth in front of her eyes. A man landed beside her, with a strange looking metal arm.

Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai and Gai braced themselves…

Hiraga Matsu, the man with the metal arm, and Baeda, the old woman with the silk cloth in front her eyes, ere simply smirking. Both of them didn't move to attack. "Hatake Kakashi, ey? The man with one Sharingan." The old woman said. "My eyes are better than your Sharingan, since mine can see more than both the Byakugan and the Sharingan, but my eyes hurt if I don't wear this cloth, so the usefulness is reduced and equal to that of your Sharingan or the Byakugan. But I do not have the Hypnotic effect of the Sharingan, or the ability to see Opening Points like the Byakugan can. But my insight is far better than both…"

Hiraga pointed his Arm Cannon towards the Konoha Jounins and began to fire off his poisonous bullets. Seeing them vanish, he performed a few hand seals, after grabbing his little scroll of drawings. "Kage Henkei!!"

Kakashi observed the animal Hiraga had transformed into. 'That's odd… The Chakra system I detect within that animal is not more powerful than the man's Chakra system. I'd say… it's exactly the same…'

In the meantime, Gai was running and jumping in high speed towards the old woman. As soon as he performed his "Konoha Gouriki Senpuu!!" he saw his attack being blocked quite easily by the old woman and he got hit in the face, though he noticed the punch was rather weak. The woman had no time to attack Gai again as Asuma was doing a similar attack, but he saw how Baeda blocked his attack easily as well, Asuma got grabbed by the collar before he was thrown away.

"This is my absolute defence. You can't do anything against it with that. On the ground my Chakra controls my body and moves it to block or dodge incoming attacks."

Gai frowned. 'This isn't very good. The only Ninjutsu I know is the basic ones… Asuma also doesn't have many Ninjutsu, but if what she says is true about her eyes being equal to the Sharingan, even Kurenai's Genjutsu won't work on her. Kakashi will be the one who has to fight her.'

Kakashi was too busy dodging the sharp claws of the big dog and bear-like animal Hiraga had transformed into. Kakashi looked very intrigued to see the animal turn back to Hiraga immediately after Gai had kicked the animal.

'I see. Similar to the Shadow Clone…'

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He could smell him. The smell of draining Chakra. The smell of a man that had to have lead a horrible life, having that kind of Chakra to fight with. Family fights had to be a real bitch. He also smelled death, or blood for that matter. But the thing he smelled most, was the memory of defeat. He would make sure that the man would be killed now.

Boosting up his own Chakra and adding Kyuubi Chakra as well. Naruto rushed forward over the roofs even faster. Akatsuki Followers who noticed couldn't believe their eyes at the speed Naruto was showing them.

And then, he stood face to face with him. Kinokomaru Kutake, the man whose Chakra drains all other Chakra types. Time to rumble…

Kinokomaru collected his own Chakra and the draining process began. The Akatsuki Followers around them chose not to interrupt the battle between the two Shinobi.

Naruto grinned. "You're a strong, but especially annoying opponent. Your victory was luck, but this time"

"I know." Kinokomaru interrupted. "I won't be able to win against you, but my allegiance lies with her. I will give everything I have…"

Naruto nodded his head. "Good."

"Meihoushi, Sokuhoushi!!" Kinokomaru yelled.

Naruto frowned as he watched the air around him turn slightly 'gold'. 'That's odd… Something tells me that's poison…' Naruto jumped back and performed a few seals. "Time to clear the way! Ryouganku no Jutsu!!"

Kinokomaru's eyes widened as he watched real lava being released from Naruto's mouth. It made his Sudden Death Spores, the golden spores he had created in the air around him, dissipate. But the Meihoushi was still lingering around. He had to roll to the side to avoid the stream of lava coming his way. He had no time to dodge the incoming roundhouse kick from Naruto and flew straight through a few trees.

"Houshi Bunshin!"

Naruto didn't see anything being created, but he knew what 'Bunshin' meant, so he was prepared. He used his nose to be sure. And surely, he smelled another presence. 'But where?' Suddenly he felt it really close… too close… He immediately used "Kyoubou Tate!!" to blow anything too close away.

Kinokomaru stared unbelieving at Naruto as he easily defeated his Spore Clone, which was invisible to the human eye. 'This guy is really good…Still, the effect of the Meihoushi should hit him in a few minutes…my spores are close to useless since his defence just blows everything away.' Kinokomaru performed a few hand seals. "Tokuya!!"

Naruto recognized the attack and dodged the poisonous arrows thrown at him. 'He knows he can't hit me, but he's attacking anyway. This mean he's trying to buy time… I can't lose any more time now! The last time I played I lost against this guy!' Naruto gathered some Chakra from the Kyuubi and mixed it with his own.

Kinokomaru was blown backwards by the huge outlet of Chakra. As he landed he couldn't help but curse. 'He even managed to disable to Meihoushin with that boost…' Kinokomaru performed many seals in a very high pace. "Daitakegari!!"

Naruto felt a lot of Chakra suddenly drained from him and saw the familiar mushrooms appear all around him. "Shit! I have to finish this fast or I'll be out of Chakra!!"

Kinokomaru watched in awe as Naruto transformed a little bit. The red eyes and claws were there again…

Kinokomaru couldn't dodge the incoming attacks as he was tired from performing the Daitakegari and the other techniques. He never performed all of them this fast after the other. Naruto was just slashing at him.

Naruto didn't pause and grabbed Kinokomaru from the ground and rammed his face hard through a tree. "You're the one who has to die first, since you're the one who's the strongest…"

Kinokomaru coughed up blood. "No… I'm not the strongest… She is…" Kinokomaru suddenly and apparently finished a few hand seals. "Kindokuya!!"

Naruto gritted his teeth as he felt the many poisonous arrows hit his back as they were shot from the mushrooms. Kinokomaru smiled sadly. "You'll kill me… but you'll die too…"

Naruto grinned. "Heh, as soon as you're gone, I'll be fine… Since I have the Kyuubi inside of me…"

Kinokomaru's eyes widened greatly. 'Kyuubi? He is the vessel of that Nine-tailed Demon? Then, I've been fighting a losing battle… I should have killed him when I had the chance…'

Naruto's claw ripped through Kinokomaru's skull. The poisonous arrows in his back fell to the ground and the mushrooms disappeared as did all the spores around him. Naruto sighed as he let Kyuubi Chakra heal him. "Man, any longer and I'd have lost my own real Chakra… now he only managed to take a lot of Kyuubi Chakra with him…" Naruto said out loud as he watched the dead form of Kinokomaru.

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Baki had already slashed to many Akatsuki followers with his own special Wind Blade. 'Damn, there are so many. From where did they all come? The Sand should've come. But even then… it would be rather pointless…'

Temari grinned as she performed "Kuchiyose, Kirikiri Mai!!" and whipped an entire army of followers away, only to see a whole new and huge group approaching them. Inwardly, she had the same thoughts Baki had.

Kankurou was defending and attacking with his puppets all around him, using poison arrows, poison smoke and the lethal weapons his puppets wore. Suddenly, Kankurou watched two of his puppets being blasted away by a powerful wind blast.

Baki and Temari looked to see who had managed to do that to Kankurou's puppets, after seeing both puppets fly past them. Baki's eyes widened. "You!" Immediately he wore an angry expression. "Temari, Kankurou. This is the most wanted missing-nin of the Sand…"

Temari and Kankurou looked at each other before facing the man. "Doro Odei…"

Doro smirked. "Baki-kun. Heh… It's been a while. You've grown… I'm surprised you've become a Hunter-nin…"

Baki's features hardened even more. "Temari, Kankurou, you handle the others. I will fight Doro."

Temari and Kankurou nodded and spread out, taking out followers everywhere.

"Baki-kun. Are you ready?" Doro said, gesturing with his hand to come at him.

Baki instead performed the single hand seal for the Wind Blast and began slicing away at Doro, who easily dodged the attacks, not daring to block them. "Is this all you can do?" He yelled during his dodging. "I guess I overestimated your growth then." He started performing seals. "Suna Shuriken!!"

Baki easily avoided the Sand Shuriken and performed seals of his own. "Kaze Shuurajou!!"

Doro couldn't avoid the slicing winds Baki sent towards him and was ripped apart by them.

Baki snorted as he watched all the pieces that once were Doro dissolve into sand. He turned at the sound of another technique thrown towards him. "Sabaku Furou!!" Baki couldn't run from the huge wave that was about to embrace him. Until the gigantic wave stopped… descending. Doro was very confused as could be seen by his mouth, which was open.

Baki turned around and came face to face with Gaara.

"What a pitiful sand wave you've created… They who have no real power, should not be smiling during their own attack…"

Doro Odei snorted, but his eyes widened as Gaara easily took control of his attack with his own Chakra. 'But! That's my attack! How can he just take over my attack!!' Doro Odei immediately moved underground and rose from the ground a few seconds later, after the sand wave had already died down. He immediately performed the Summoning hand seals. 'That's Gaara… I won't be able to beat him without a summon.'

Meanwhile, Gaara was… grinning… as Doro Odei performed the "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

A huge Hawk stood beside Doro. Doro jumped up and landed on the hawk's head. "Gaara… Show me what you can do against Oushu!"

Suddenly, the Hawk sank through the ground. As it tried to fly away, a huge sandworm wrapped itself around his claws. "Oushu!!" Doro yelled. It was too late, however, and the Hawk was dragged underground. Gaara immediately covered the huge hole with new sand and hardened it, so the Hawk would not be able to fly out.

When Doro had been underground, avoiding his own attack, the Sand Wave, Gaara used the Kuchiyose no Jutsu to summon Hikra, his Sand Worm… He let the worm dig the ground under Doro a little loose and that's how he had defeated the huge Hawk in short time. He wasn't surprised to see Doro jump out of the sand. 'He's a Sand Shinobi after all…'

Doro looked really angry. 'Shit! He defeated my summon just like that!'

"Hangetsuzan." Gaara spoke out.

Doro's eyes widened as Gaara's right arm began to show the familiar blue seals of the Shukaku. He watched as the entire arm grew in size. And then, he watched as the huge fist approaching him…

Baki winced as he saw how Doro got squashed…

Temari and Kankurou approached. "More of them are coming!!"

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"You're a fool. You can not win against me. You have an absolute defence against almost all attacks, Bu my attacks can not be defended against so easily."

Sukumi Tachi snorted. "Talk is cheap. Just start already."

Sukumi Tachi had activated his Stone Armor. Unlike with Gaara, the Stone Armor was very evident. Neji just shook his head. "Senshin-Byakugan!!"

Sukumi braced himself. "Heh, the Byakugan, huh? I know of your 64 Points attack, that won't be able to get past my Stone Armor."

Neji smiled. "That isn't really necessarily… I have the perfect attack for penetrating your defence…" Neji went through four different hand seals. "Katon, Aisu, Raiden, Mizu, Karm no Jutsu!"

Before the beam would hit Sukumi, Neji yelled "Bunretsu!!" which made the beam didvide into four separate slightly smaller beams.

And then, "Seikaku!!" and all beams headed for Sukumi again.

Sukumi's speed was very low because of the Stone Armor, so trying to dodge was out of the question.

Neji let the water beam hit Sukumi, then the Ice. He let the Fire and Electricity Beams wonder off and rushed towards Sukumi himself, preparing to give him the hardest punch ever.

As the hit connected, mixed with the Gentle Fist style, The Armor started cracking, Neji smiled and let both the fire and electricity beams make their impacts on Sukumi. Sukumi screamed in pain.

Neji watched as he crouched down. Just to be sure, he performed new seals and unleashed a "Rakurai no Jutsu", a lightning strike on him, to be followed by the "Hyouketsu no Jutsu!!", a freeze attack. Sukumi now was a simple Ice block. Neji pulverized it, after looking at it for one small second.

"Heh, if I had played around, he probably would have lived a lot longer… But this is a war and I have to defend Konoha…"

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"So we meet again. This time will be very different." Sasuke stated. "Sharingan!!"

Takabashi Nakao merely grinned. "Heh, the last time I fought you, you were down so easily. Not a lot of time has passed since then. You think you can defeat me now?"

Sasuke ignored him and rushed forward with two Raikiris in both his palms. Nakao disappeared from view, but not from Sasuke's view. "I can see you!" He immediately threw one Raikiri straight at Nakao, who was up on a roof. The Raikiri managed to blow the roof off, but missed Nakao. Sasuke saw him again, this time to his left and he threw his last Raikiri at him. As Nakao dodged the smaller version of the Chidori, he found himself blocking Sasuke's fist and knee. Nakao immediately countered with a jab. As Sasuke faltered Nakao kicked him in the face, sending Sasuke flying.

"Seems to me I'm still superior to you."

Nakao had already sensed where Sasuke went as he had disappeared. Nakao blocked the foot in front of his face and the knee planning to land hard in his back. Nakao somersaulted straight into Sasuke, who barely dodged and countered with "Kage Jiten Shuriken!!"

Nakao tried to jump away but saw that the Shuriken were all around him. 'Nowhere to run…' Many Shurikens already slashed at him as they were spinning around Sasuke.

Nakao's eye colour changed to golden and smirked as he ignored the cuts the Shurikens were giving him. He simply rushed towards Sasuke and rammed his hard in the face.

As Sasuke landed, he couldn't help but look dumbfounded. 'Huh… he managed to get through all those Shurikens…' Nakao suddenly vanished. 'What! His speed has increased!! It has increased greatly! I can't see him!'

"Hishouken!!" Sasuke could only watch as Nakao approached him from the front, it seemed he was flying towards him, so horizontally was he jumping towards Sasuke. The fist that hit his face was excruciating, Sasuke flew high in the air because of the blow and could sense Nakao was following him in the air.

"Raiouken!!" With an incredible smack and loud rumble of thunder, Sasuke spiralled down towards the ground, electricity surrounding him. Nakao's attack was powerful and had Electricity in it as well. Sasuke mad a hard impact on the ground, creating a large crater.

Sluggishly, Sasuke rose and activated his Curse Seal to level two. And then, he felt his presence behind him. He could feel the Kunai close to his neck…

"Reppuuken!!"

Nakao was blown several meters away, as Rock Lee used Violent Wind Fist on Nakao's face. "Are you alright, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke snarled. "He's my opponent, Lee! Stay out of this!"

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Sakura was watching all the Akatsuki Followers who had fallen into her Genjutsu trap and they were walking circles. "My opponents are too thick to even see this easy Genjutsu, can you believe it?"

Hinata and Ino both smiled. "Sakura, you do know that as soon as they notice the Genjutsu, we'll have to deal with a whole lot of them?" Ino complained.

"Don't worry, as soon as they figure this one out, they'll be so proud of themselves that they won't notice walking straight into the second Genjutsu." Sakura said.

Hinata smiled. "So, you'll done Shinteki Taisaku after this one, right, Sakura-san?"

Sakura nodded. "Yep, and after that I'll summon Katsuyu… Tsunade said she won't be using it."

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Jiraiya on GamaBunta, Hatsu Heishou on Manda and Teri Kinuta were facing the Akatsuki Leader's Dragon. Tsunade and Orochimaru, meanwhile, were facing the Akatsuki Leader.

"So, you must be Tsunade, right? One of the Legendary Three?" The woman said before turning to the man beside Tsunade, who had grey hair in a pony-tail and eyes that didn't seem to match with the face. "And you are?"

"Orochimaru."

The woman smiled. "Ah, I see. I know that special Jutsu of yours now too, Orochimaru…"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. 'This woman has to die…'

"Those fools will never beat my dragon… And neither will you two be able to defeat me." The woman said before gathering in enormous amount of Chakra, able to blow Orochimaru and Tsunade away, if they weren't trying their hardest to remain standing in front of her.

"Let's begin…"

Tsunade began by rushing forward and ram her fist straight through the woman, who disappeared. Orochimaru had already moved to where the woman had moved to and tried to land a kick in her face, which was easily blocked. Orochimaru could feel the power that surged through her arm. The punch she gave him to the face proved it even more. 'I think she has more power than Tsunade…' Orochimaru thought as he flew backwards. Tsunade approached and fist hit fist, followed by the rumble that resulted from the impact of the two...

Tsunade's eyes widened. 'She matched my power…!?'

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"Aaaghhh!!" Kiba screamed. "Get the hell off of me, Chouji!"

Chouji fell off of Kiba and watched Shino perform hand seals against their opponent. Shino's ANBU subordinates had already been killed and they had been luck this far, also because they had just joined the fight. It was Shino who shoved Chouji away, saving him from the woman they were fighting.

Shino already knew the name of the talented woman before him and had to admit that he probably would be beaten if he worked alone. So he was pretty glad Chouji and Kiba showed up. But Chouji almost died because of the earth smashing punch Takabashi Serra could give.

"Kouken!!" Serra yelled as she appeared to Shino's left and hit Shino hard in the chest. Shino felt her fist claw through his chest. Shino watched as Serra continued. "Rajinken!!"

Shino couldn't help but be blown away a few meters while electricity crackled through his system.

Kiba approached Serra together with Akamaru and performed the "Gatsuuga!!"

Serra looked intrigued and jumped right towards the Piercing Fang. "Toraryuu Rendan!!"

Chouji watched in awe as Chakra surrounded Serra and she jumped right into the Piercing Fang. A very short moment later, blood was splashed every way and Kiba and Akamaru fell to the ground, with a lot of slashed on their body…

'Shit… She can counter the Gatsuuga…' Kiba thought.

It was Chouji's turn and his arm grew in size, his fist approaching Serra's form. Serra watched the first approach. "Katouken!!" She yelled as she punched the fist hard.

Chouji screamed as his entire arm was in fire and because of it was bigger than usual, it hurt more too… Chouji gritted teeth. "Shoushou!!" He jumped towards Serra and landed both his fists hard in the ground, causing the ground under Serra to crumble. Serra simply jumped. Chouji grinned as he still had his hands on the ground. "Doton Doryou Dango!!" With that, he pulled two enormous boulders from the ground and threw both of them at Serra, who was still in the air.

Serra watched the two enormous boulders and saw that she couldn't dodge. "Hien Zan!!"

And with her Chakra, amazingly enough, she cut straight through the two boulders and secured her safety as she landed on Chouji with "Koukkuu!!" Using her two feet as knives, using Chakra. Chouji screamed in pain. Before Serra could continue with another attack, sudden forms of Chakra were thrown at her. Serra jumped backwards and watched as new girl came into view. Holding Chakra in her hands…

Kiba recognised the girl. 'Ten-Ten… She's a Jounin.' Kiba rose from the ground and performed many seals with Akamaru by his side. 'We can handle this easily without a Jounin aiding…' Kiba nodded to Akamaru. "Soutou"

Before he could finish, Serra had pounded her shoulder straight into Kiba's face, sending him into a wall. Akamaru tried to a single Gatsuuga at her, but was also kicked away.

Ten-Ten approached, but was surprised to find the woman already behind her and kicking her hard in the back. As Ten-Ten landed she had to admit that the woman sure had power. 'Time to activate my absolute defence then…'

Serra narrowed her eyes at the Chakra around the girl. 'I see… She uses her Chakra almost the same way I do, but she on the other hand can throw her Chakra… while I just expand the range of my attacks or make my physical attacks more lethal… I can't get close to her without getting sliced by the Chakra around her…'

Serra closed her eyes and as she opened them, they were bright red. 'But now, that Chakra won't affect me at all… Ember-state…'

Ten-Ten grinned as the woman approached. 'Heh, she'll be hurt as soon a she comes too close.' And indeed, Ten-Ten's Chakra began to slice at her. But Ten-Ten 's eyes widened as the woman simply ignored the pain and went straight through. "Shoudan!!" With an incredible surge of Chakra in Serra's fist, Ten-Ten was sent flying. She couldn't avoid feeling Serra on her as they both descended towards the ground in high speed.

"Raihou!!" Serra yelled. Ten-Ten forced all of her Chakra around her and hardened a great deal. The impact they would make would be tremendous. Serra landed with Ten-Ten under her and her fist in Ten-Ten's stomach. The ground was ripped apart by the impact. Serra jumped up and looked impressed at the girl. 'She's still alive after the Raihou… Quite impressive, but she won't be able to stand up again…'

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Sasuke was leaning against a building and watched as Lee avoided an outstretched black shadow-ish image of a fist. But Lee got knocked hard in the face by Nakao, who appeared beside him as Lee was still avoiding the Shadow-like fist moving through the air. Nakao was using strange techniques, Bloodline Limit techniques, Sasuke noted.

Sasuke rushed towards Nakao again in his Curse Seal level 1 state, since level 2 just took too much Chakra. He watched Nakao gather Chakra in his hands. "Dokouken!!"

Sasuke's Sharingan told him there was poison involved and Sasuke leaped backwards while performing a few hand seals. "Suicchi!!"

Nakao grunted in confusion as he found himself on the spot Sasuke stood moments earlier. Sasuke smirked at the short moment of disorientation Nakao was going through and yelled. "Katon: Inferuno!!"

Nakao screamed in pain as fire engulfed him from every side. Sasuke grinned and deactivated the Curse Seal. "He's not down… Lee!" Sasuke yelled and saw Lee land next to him. "Are you alright?"

Lee almost shoved his thumb in Sasuke's face. "I'm great! He did manage to break one of my ribs, I think… So my movements will be slower than usual…" Lee suddenly threw all of his weights off. "But this should help…"

Sasuke grinned. "Ok, it will take long before he's down Lee…"

The golden eyes that they saw weren't a joy to watch. Nakao smiled. "For that attack, I will kill you two slowly!!" Nakao smirked insanely. "Choureppaken!!"

Sasuke's eyes widened at the Chakra Nakao was displaying. 'What the hell!! That's even more than my Curse Seal can give me!'

Nakao lost all control and simply appeared behind Sasuke and rammed him hard through one of the walls of the houses around them. Lee hit Nakao hard in the face but was surprised that Nakao took the hit with a grin and headbutted Lee right back, sending Lee flying.

Sasuke slowly climbed out of the house he had fallen into and panted. His eyes widened as he heard a familiar voice from above him. "Oy, Sasuke you bastard! Tired already?"

On the roof above him, Naruto stood, leaning over him, his shadow falling over him. He frowned at him before Lee was rammed through the same wall he was climbing out.

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Kakashi and Gai were trying to hit Baeda, the old woman, with combined combos, but found her absolute defence, really… absolute. It was good the old woman didn't pack a powerful punch or kick and she couldn't throw Kunais that fast.

Kurenai and Asuma weren't getting close either to the horrible technique Hiraga displayed. It seemed he could spray his blood from his Chakra Points, it seemed the guy could automatically make new blood in his body. Had to be a Bloodline Limit… So it would be no use trying to hit him with Kunais or Shurikens to make blood flow from his body. One big move was needed to wipe the guy out. Kurenai performed a few difficult hand seals, while Asuma also performed a few hand seals.

Hiraga Matsu suddenly found himself paralyzed, unable to move. Being in a whole new world didn't help matters as he found himself being tied up, being crucified at the same time. And then the roped began to burn… burn real hot. Hiraga screamed before another illusion entered the scenery. Hiraga found liquid being poured over him. The liquid was also really hot. Hiraga screamed more. And then he felt one Kunai get stuck in his torso. Hiraga smirked and released another wave of blood from his Chakra points…

Kurenai and Asuma both jumped backwards as Hiraga's blood almost hit him. They watched as Hiraga pulled himself out of the Genjutsu. This particular one paralyzed the movements and gave an opening to kill the enemy, but you had to be quick, since the Genjutsu wouldn't take very long, otherwise it would take too much Chakra.

"So the pain was also just an illusion…" Hiraga said and narrowed his eyes at Kurenai and Asuma. "That was close, until you made blood flow in the illusion, which gave me the opportunity to use my ability. Too bad…"

Kakashi and Gai weren't getting any closer either and were panting by now. And then suddenly, they watched as shock registered on Baeda's face. Kurenai and Asuma noticed the same on Hiraga's face.

"Heh, I didn't think elite Jounins like you four needed my help… How troublesome…"

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Shino let his bugs heal him as he was smashed harshly against one of the walls of a house. 'Hmm, she uses Chakra to expand the range of her physical attacks, making my poison quite ineffective… guess I'll use the same style she uses… to form my Chakra into power…'

Kiba and Akamaru were both tired, after trying to perform the most powerful Jutsu they witnessed Serra being able to cancel the Jutsu before it could be performed. Now they used the simply Juujin Bunshin, while both also performing the Gekido, Kyouran Kougeki, making both of them lose control but gaining more power and speed. So now you could see two Kibas throwing one Sankontessou after another at Serra, who could only dodge.

Chouji had already tried all of his physical attacks against Serra, but found that Serra could use her Chakra in a far better way and was ably to parry all his attacks away, even after using two pills. He had considered going multi-size, but hat would put Kiba and Shino in danger. Chouji winced as he saw Kiba and Akamaru both being thrashed against the same wall Shino was resting against. And then, as Serra was slightly gloating and telling them all to just run, something changed. Chouji squinted his eyes as he watched Hinata appear before Serra and performing the 64 Opening Points Attack.

Shino rose from the ground, followed by Kiba, who carried the tired Akamaru in his hands. "I see. Yamanaka Ino and Hyuga Hinata, while Haruno Sakura had probably performed a Genjutsu to delude the woman, Ino was able to enter her body and Hinata used her attack…"

"We should kill her now we can…" Kiba growled while petting Akamaru.

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TBC…

Author's Note: Heh, so many battles and so many of them aren't even finished… Well, as you might have noticed, I changed the Spore Guy's name from Kinoko to Kinokomaru, since Kinoko was a female name, as Hattuteline pointed out to me. But he has died in this chapter, so unfortunate. I kinda liked the guy, but his ability didn't promise him a long life…

And oh my God!! What would happen if Sasuke would encounter Itachi or Orochimaru during this war….


	18. The Struggle

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto does.

Author's Note: Well, hope you enjoy the chappy! This is all action from here on. Some things just need to be dealt with. Expect many deaths in this and the next chapter.

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Review Reply Corner:

**Pyr00tje**: Yoo, Pyr00! Heh, said comment was lil sarcastic, but never mind. Well, this chapter is out pretty fast, I think… Oh well, I hope you enjoy this one as well.

**Misu** **no** **Yami**: Heh, thanks!! I bet you bounce a lot… Heh, thanks for reviewing!

**Sirus183**: Thanks! If you liked the fighting, here's another fighting chapter for ya! Hope you enjoy!

**Dragon89**: Well, in this particular book there will be no pairings, only hints, I guess. Here's an update!

**Anonymous**: Hahaha, how stupid I am! You're right! I need to change that to the normal Byakugan, then.

**:D**: Yep, yep, it's a war and everybody hurts… Thanks for the review!

**DocDragon**: Yeah, Sasuke would, wouldn't he? He's so difficult to write about sometimes… Oh well, thanks for reviewing!

**Lady Light**: Heh, yep, lots and lots of fighting! Here's another chapter of fighting…

**FlareofDragon**: Heh, well, Orochimaru will be slightly stronger in this chapter, only slightly, heh… Hope you enjoy and thanks for the review!

**SilverKnight7**: Heh, thanks! Here's the next update!

**Stoictimer**: Heh, everything must wait his/her turn. shrugs Thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoy this chappy!

**Zsych**: Heh, when Chouji goes all out it'll be sweet… Also when Lee, Gai and even Mokito open all gates it will be a speedfest… Kaguya Clan is very interesting, but it's just too bad everyone died… You really think the Curse Seal will do anything to enhance the Sharingan? Cause I don't, I only see the Curse Seal as something that uses the user's Chakra as basic, but major power-up. I still think YOU should write the vampire fic, I think you know a lot more than I do about it. The summon-theory you mention I will probably handle in the next Book… ponder Well, I don't know who'll survive this war and who won't whistle.. I can see many people wanted Sasuke to die, or Sakura for that matter, instead of constantly imprinting the sound 'Sasuke-kun' in everyone's ear.

**Peter Kim**: Itachi is a loved person, hehehe, you'll see who he fights. Hope you enjoy the chappy!

**RuByMoOn17**: Me too! The battle scene is really fun to write! Thanks for reviewing!

**Moonlight's Shadow**: Oh man, you just mentioned something that's familiar to one of Chouji's new techniques! Oh well, it is rather logical, I guess. Thanks for reviewing!!

**EfrainMan**: Ohhh, I do wonder who he will encounter, if he encounters them at all, Sasuke, I mean. Thanks for reviewing!!

**Shishi haze**: Yep, I had exams and they're over now so I'll be writing a lot again! Hope you enjoy the chappy!

**Magicalfoci**: Sasuke is pretty strong… In this fic as well, he hasn't used the Mange Sharingan against Nakao to save Chakra. Ja, thanks for reviewing!

**CurlsofSerenity**: Thanks! I'm glad you like it! Here's the next chappy!

**Chinkpig**: Well, just imagine the dance of the Willows: Ino-style, then? With two swords. Heh, hope it'll work. About being able to summon. Well, Sakura controls her Chakra perfectly and she IS close to Jounin level already here, so, I think it can be done… can it? About pairing, I don't really mind them asking, actually. Some people have to repeat themselves very often in life, why care about it?

**Lemmings12**: Sasuke seems weaker because he's fighting without the Curse Seal most of the time. This way, he'll become stronger fast. In the end, he does activate it and can keep up with Nakao's speed. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well, it is filled with action, only action.

**Irony**: Heh, I hope it didn't take you too long. But here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy this one as well!

**Monaki-cheung**: Thanks!! I'm glad you love it!! Uh, here's the next Chapter, thanks for the review!!

**Sally**: Well, for everything there's a plan… I think. Naruto, Gaara and Neji will show up here, as well as Itachi. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

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Even from the outskirts of Fire country explosions could be heard and the flashes of techniques flying around could be seen in the sky. No one really craved wars, some considered it to be necessarily to be able to get what you want and others thought it was the best defence. But a Shinobi's skill and ability wouldn't really matter in a war, since everyone is really fighting everyone. Sudden attacks are a part of that game. It was true that the most skilled Shinobis were usually the ones who had killed most, but they are no less vulnerable to attacks than other Shinobis.

But of course, there were exceptions…

On top of the Hokage monument, five Shinobis stood, watching the war from afar. They did nothing to gain attention or made any move to participate in the war. They were simply watching, or waiting. They analyzed the battles that were taking place. It went from great swirling Kaitens to humongous Summons battling each other to the pinpointing of the greater Shinobis within. Those whose Chakra sent shivers down anyone's spine. Indeed, the Akatsuki Leader was powerful…

"Itachi-san."

Itachi looked up at the slightly taller Hyuga Dareda and motioned for him to continue. He knew what was going to happen and hoped, no, wanted it to go right. If only they had more certainty of Naruto and Gaara not going berserk in there.

"We're moving in. You have to stay here. It seems we'll have to interfere after all…" Dareda stated with a frown directed at the Leaf Village. "Though I can understand their decisions."

Itachi nodded. "Decisions…"

"I always liked watching wars." Kisame suddenly interrupted the silent moment. "But I never was one to butt in. Do you know how high the chance is of getting killed during a war?"

Mokito shook her head. "Well, it is war, isn't it? The main purpose is to kill the opponent and… win the argument." She ended with a chuckle.

Dareda and Itachi simply stared down at the village. Beside Dareda, Sinobi was gazing with an interesting look at the Village. "That enormous Chakra I sense… It isn't Naruto's or Gaara's…"

**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 18

Naruto observed Takabashi Nakao before him. 'This must be his ultimate move… It kinda reminds me of my fight against Haku… He has no control at all… I bet he didn't have enough Chakra left to perform it in our last fight. This will be interesting. A test to see how far I can go without Kyuubi Chakra.'

Naruto noted that Nakao remained standing and was observing him as well. Naruto turned to Sasuke and Lee, who were both panting beneath him as he was standing on the roof of the house they just got smashed in. 'Sasuke is tired. I think he's trying to save Chakra by not activating that Curse Seal of his. And Lee… I see that he has his weights off, but he… he has an injury. That's why he is panting. So, I can still expect Lee to fight.'

Naruto hopped down from the roof and performed many hand seals. "Tsutek Hibaku!!"

Naruto smiled as he watched the dumbfounded Nakao got himself surrounded by enormous mountains. There was no escape as the Waterfalls activated and came crushing down from the top of the mountains towards Nakao. Nakao screamed, his eyes turning from golden to completely black. Nevertheless, the attack hit him dead-on.

Naruto's grin was short-lived as he saw Nakao stand up after the powerful attack. Behind him, Lee and Sasuke's eyes were widened. Naruto's eyes narrowed at the black eyes of Nakao.

"Heh, I've gained back control. And on top of that, I get to show you my own Shin Doubuken…"

Naruto frowned. "Show off? Just come already, you bastard!"

Nakao grinned and appeared behind Naruto, only to see Lee noticed and tried to kick him in the face, so Nakao withdrew again and Lee's kick missed its target.

Lee and Naruto stood next to each other as they stared at Nakao. "Lee. How are you doing?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and rammed his fist on the ground. 'Damn it, damn it, damn it! I'm too tired…'

"I'm fine, Naruto-kun. I think only a fractured rib." Lee threw a soldier pill at Sasuke. "It might not help much, but at least it'll help a bit." Lee said with his thumbs up.

Sasuke took the soldier pill with reluctance. 'Damn it…'

"Lee, this opponent is strong… Are you sure you can continue?" Naruto asked as he still faced Nakao in front of him.

Lee nodded his head. "I'll help you, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto smiled. "Thank you, Lee." Naruto gathered lots and lots of Chakra, blowing Lee a few feet backwards, since he was a bit too close to Naruto. Nakao just grinned.

Naruto smiled. "Now then, bring it on!"

Lee's eyes as well as Sasuke's eyes were widened. The enormous Chakra Naruto was displaying… was unbelievable. "Lee! Sasuke! Help me!" And with that, both Nakao and Naruto disappeared from view.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and found he had difficulty just sensing them. Lee could follow them, though, since his speed was so much higher. When he noticed an opening, Lee jumped in. "Reppuuken!!"

Nakao caught Lee's Violent Wind Fist with his face and fell hard through one of the trees that were still standing. Naruto was grinning as he landed beside Lee. "Nice move, Lee!"

Lee was facing Nakao still as he replied. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Sasuke suddenly walked next to Naruto. Naruto smiled. 'Good… Sasuke can still fight as well… This means I have back-up when I fight him with only MY Chakra…'

Naruto suddenly disappeared from between Lee and Sasuke and saw as Nakao was blown towards the sky. Once in the air, Naruto started with a punch to the gut, which was blocked by Nakao's knee. Nakao immediately continued with an elbow towards Naruto, planning to send him downwards. Naruto spun his body so that the elbow soared past him and Naruto could grab Nakao's arm while planting a knee in Nakao's stomach. As his knee connected, Naruto found his knee grabbed by Nakao.

"Jaei Ken!!"

Lee and Sasuke's eyes widened as They saw Nakao perform a Chakra-induced slash with his fist, which had sliced Naruto hard across the chest. Naruto fell harshly on the ground.

"Konoha Gouriki Senpuu!!" Lee yelled as he performed the Konoha spinning kick on Nakao, preventing Nakao from finishing off Naruto.

He took one look at the bleeding mess on Naruto's chest, only to see red Chakra surround him and heal the wound. Lee swallowed in confusion. 'This opponent…'

Naruto rose from the ground, totally unharmed, except for a tear in his cloak where he had been hit. "Lee… I'll handle this one now…"

Lee dumbly nodded as he observed the red Chakra around Naruto with wide eyes. 'His Chakra… it feels… evil…'

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and observed the red Chakra with his Sharingan. 'So this again? He hadn't been using this before?'

Naruto performed hand seals lightning fast. "Hyousoundare!!"

Because of the enormous use of Chakra, Nakao found himself on a giant mountain, that had crushed the remaining houses around them by appearing. On top of the mountain, Naruto released a huge avalanche. Nakao didn't seen anywhere where he could escape to.

As he was washed away by the giant avalanche, he still managed to stand up, only to meet the full stream of Naruto's Lava attack "Ryouganku no Jutsu!!" on his entire body. Nakao was blown backwards.

Naruto appeared in front of the stumbling Nakao and saw Nakao could not fight any longer… Naruto put one Rasengan on Nakao's forehead. "It's been a nice fight… thanks…"

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Orochimaru was performing technique after technique, going from a giant fire attacks to a vicious wind blasts. But all they did was slow the woman's walking towards him. Orochimaru snarled and wished he hadn't given Sasuke the Kusanagi. 'I haven't performed a ritual to perform the Kuchiyose Edo-Tensei… But those old Hokages would be useful here…'

Tsunade appeared above the woman, only see her disappear, right before her feet made the ground crumble where she landed.

Above them, Manda was trying to break free from under the Dragon's feet and the Dragon was also holding the huge Hyena by its neck. "**Yukio… Should I kill them?**"

The woman Orochimaru and Tsunade were fighting looked up at the dragon and nodded her head. Manda and Ayeen both disappeared with puff of smoke. Teri and Hatsu both jumped down after their summons got wiped away.

Jiraiya was still facing the Dragon with GamaBunta. "Sheesh, this is a really powerful one."

GamaBunta was about to reply, until the Dragon's thick tail ruthlessly smacked GamaBunta away.

Teri performed hand seals and faced Yukio. "Teishuuha!!"

Yukio grinned. "I know of the attack, it's one of the forbidden techniques of the Sound Village, isn't it?" She said, indicating no reaction that the attack did have an effect on her. "It's useless. I've studied all forbidden techniques and also knew how to defeat them. I am now of the Ryuu Clan, so a barrier of Chakra is everywhere around me. Those foolish sound waves you send can not get past them."

Teri snarled and formed a few new hand seals. "Die!! Hibiki Ayatsuri!!"

Teri lost sight of her and when she did notice, it was from behind, when Yukio's hands grasped Teri's neck. "You're the one who's dying…"

Hatsu's eyes widened as he saw Teri fall to the ground. "Noo!!" Hatsu rushed towards Yukio in blind rage. "Hakaze Atemi!!"

Yukio's eyes showed a joyous emotion. "You loved this woman? And you're from the Grass Village?" Yukio said while dodging the sharp leaves that were being sent her way from Hatsu's hands. Yukio blocked an interrupting kick from her left side which came from Tsunade. Yukio jumped backwards and performed a few hand seals. "Let me show you how that technique should be done! Hakaze Atemi!!"

Hatsu's eyes widened as Yukio's sharpened and hardened leaves came from all around him. Yukio grinned as she watched Hatsu's body being ripped apart and saw how his body parts formed into dozens of leaves.

"Ah, impressive… However…"

Hatsu's eyes widened as he appeared a few feet away from Yukio, but noticed the hardened leaves hit his body again. This time, there was only blood. Yukio smirked. "My attacks don't stop as quickly as yours did…"

Yukio sidestepped Tsunade's attack, but got entangled in Orochimaru's Senei Yashuu. Yukio snarled as the small snaked began to tighten their grip on her throat. "Don't think you can defeat me with this!"

Yukio let out a surge of purplish Chakra, making the snakes around her burn and vanish. Orochimaru performed new hand seals. "Don't underestimate us either, woman…" He finished his hand seals. "Furou Fushi no Jutsu!!"

Yukio's eyes widened. 'This skill I don't know…'

She found herself being paralyzed on the spot. Orochimaru cautiously walked towards her. "You were too arrogant and got trapped in my Immortality Skill. This allows me take your body, your soul, your mind and all of your techniques. Foolish woman, you were too cocky."

Orochimaru's eyes widened as the huge Dragon's tail suddenly swept by. Orochimaru managed to dodge it, but Yukio was fully hit by it, also breaking Orochimaru's Jutsu.

Orochimaru snarled as the woman appeared several feet in front of him. "I will not make that mistake again, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru jumped away from the fire breath that came out of Yukio's mouth.

Tsunade performed one hand seal. "Souzousaisei!!"

Yukio's eyes widened again. 'So these are the techniques of the Legendary Shinobis… I wonder what this one does…' Yukio watch amused at the killing intent expressed in Tsunade's eyes and the awful seal on her face. 'She has much more power now… and all her wounds have vanished as well… Interesting Jutsu…'

Yukio could still easily follow Tsunade's movements as Tsunade disappeared. Wanting to know Tsunade's power, Yukio blocked the attack from her right, only to be sent flying away. Yukio gritted her teeth and grabbed her arm once she landed on the ground. 'Damn… She packs a lot of power…'

Just then, the big Toad got beaten by the huge Dragon and Jiraiya jumped next to Orochimaru, who was also watching Tsunade go all out. "She's become more powerful, ey?" Orochimaru stated as they observed Tsunade.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah. Heh, this from the little girl in our team, hehe…"

Orochimaru didn't smile and performed a few hand seals. "We have no time to be joking around… That Dragon still needs to be beaten…"

Jiraiya sighed. "It's a real bother those wings of the Dragon really work…"

Orochimaru had summoned three three-headed snakes. Jiraiya performed a few hand seals and made his hair expand around him. "Perhaps I can shave the skin off of the dragon… Hanrinezumi!!"

Jiraiya made his hair harden as it surrounded him completely. He crouched and formed into a ball, before shooting himself off towards the Dragon. As he went by his skin his hair slashed through the Dragon's skin, spilling lots of blood.

Yukio watched with her eyes widened as she watched her Dragon out matched by two Legendary Shinobis.

This moment of confusion gave Tsunade the time to land a powerful blow on Yukio's face. Yukio was sent reeling backwards.

Yukio was now seething. "Damn… I never expected you three to be this strong…" The purple Chakra around Yukio began to expand around her and it easily made the ground crumble. "Let me show you what I received!!"

Yukio disappeared from view and as a fast bullet, ripped through one three-headed snake, while heading straight for Jiraiya. She stopped his Hanrinezumi attack with a surge of Chakra, sending Jiraiya towards the ground and out of that state. Then, Yukio appeared in front of Orochimaru, who was standing on one of the three-headed snakes. Instead of attacking Orochimaru, Yukio buried herself hard in one of the heads of the three-headed snakes, ripping it apart form the inside. After that, she appeared in front of Tsunade. Tsunade could follow her movements and already had a punch for her ready, but was surprised to find Yukio taking the hit, though with a slight wince, before hitting her right back... hard.

Jiraiya panted on the ground. "Whoa… this woman is definitely something else…"

Yukio continued by attacking another three-headed snake, which was having a power struggle together with the other three, now two-headed Snake Orochimaru was on against her Dragon. All three heads were sliced off by use of Chakra and the Dragon easily finished the two-headed snake off easily.

Orochimaru landed next to Jiraiya on the ground. "She's stronger now… Our techniques won't have much of an effect anymore. Even Tsunade in the state she is in now has trouble with her. We need help."

Yukio smashed Tsunade hard in the face, who had been rushing towards her again.

"In any case, we can't be sitting ducks here, so might as well join the fight." Jiraiya said, before running for Yukio and performing hand seals. "Rasengan!!" Two Rasengans were formed in Jiraiya's hands.

Yukio looked on and found it rather amusing. Another technique she didn't know. The two Rasengans caused massive destruction as they soared past Yukio. "Interesting technique." She said as she had grasped both of Jiraiya's arms and was staring straight in his face.

Before she could do anything else, Orochimaru was above, about to land on her with hand seals finished. Yukio acted fast and threw Jiraiya against Orochimaru. Tsunade was behind her again, kicking her hard in the back.

Tsunade's eyes widened as the kick only made Yukio move a little forward. "How?"

Yukio grinned as she turned around and faced Tsunade, not ignoring the fact Orochimaru and Jiraiya were up again. "Let me explain it to you… It's the least I can do before I kill you three."

Yukio closed her eyes. "I am from the lethal Bloodline Limit from the old and small Snow Village, which no longer exists. I am the only survivor left, I have heard. I've heard of another survivor but found out he got killed by a Leaf Shinobi. He was the son of my little sister, his name was Haku. Now, I think you can guess from which Clan I am… It's the Fetaru Clan. My name is Fetaru Yukio. Already having mastered all the skills of my Bloodline, I came to find out the way of the Hidden Scrolls, said to make the one who learns all techniques of all Hidden Scrolls the last and only descendent of the Dragon, the Ryuuki Clan. You three must know that the Ryuuki Clan was known for its weaknesses, so you wonder why anyone would want to collect all the Scrolls. But the fact is that they aren't weak at all. It is true that they have no history of having great Shinobis, but they can dream, see visions. And when I became the descendant of the Ryuuki Clan, there was something else. I not only became the descendant, but also the reincarnation of THE dragon of the Ryuuki Clan. In truth I am now two persons, or one person and one beast. But we can both use both our abilities. I can use his Chakra and techniques and he can use my Chakra and my techniques, including my Bloodline Techniques. Because of the link the reincarnation made between me and the dragon I can also summon dragons."

Yukio closed her eyes and laughed shortly. "In short, there is not a single person who can truly defeat me. Not even an entire army can stop me!"

Tsunade gritted her teeth. 'Shit… my Chakra is real low, I can't do anything. The same is with Orochimaru and Jiraiya…'

"Interesting story. It kid of reminds me of how the Kyuubi got defeated here. There is a way to stop you, after all…" Jiraiya said. "I know the Fourth's Jutsu."

Yukio chuckled. "Heh, so what? You barely have any Chakra left while I am still boosting mine. You're a fool if you think you can still defeat me or my Dragon."

Jiraiya smiled as Neji appeared together with Shigeru Sarutobi, Iruka Umino, Genma and Aoba. Neji watched the huge Dragon in awe and immediately performed a few combination hand seals. "Taiyuu Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!" Neji yelled. 'This is gonna take Chakra, but that Dragon has to go down…'

In front Neji, his summons were all immediately staring at the Dragon, knowing that it was he who was their opponent. "**Heh, Neji. This one's powerful I can sense that. No wonder why you summoned all of us.**" A huge Leopard said. Beside the leopard, stood a huge Scorpion and a gigantic Alligator.

"**It's been a while since we've fought together, but this time it's really necessarily, ey, Neji?**" The Alligator brought out of his jaws.

Neji smiled proudly as he stared at Dakats, the Scorpion, Ani, the Alligator and Hyou the Leopard. "I'll be staying on the ground, helping the others."

Yukio looked impressed. "You summoned three Summon Bosses at once? How? It doesn't matter much anyway, they won't be able to defeat the Dragon and…" Yukio didn't finish the sentence and shook her while chuckling. "Foolish boy… for this little mistake you will die!!" She yelled as she stared hard at Shigeru. "Genjutsu, ey?"

With a small boost of Chakra, Yukio appeared behind Shigeru and put a hand on his neck. "Denkou Juin!"

Shigeru screamed in pain as Yukio's hand burned in Shigeru's neck. Yukio chuckled. "I hope you enjoy killing your friends…"

Shigeru fell to the ground and his Chakra was pouring out. Neji rushed forward in great speed and only managed to make Yukio jump backwards. "Senshin-Byakugan!!"

"Ah, A Hyuga you are…" Yukio smiled. "I do wonder where all my allies are? You guys keep showing up!" She yelled as she noticed Ino, Kiba, Sakura, Hinata, Chouji and Shino enter the same scenery.

"There are only weaker Shinobis left, I think." Shino stated.

Hinata walked next to Neji and also activated her "Senshin-Byakugan!!" Remembering how Neji had taught it to her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------Flashback-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Naruto, Hinata-sama… She's quite skilled, isn't she?" Neji said as he was facing Naruto, while Hinata was distance behind them, talking with Kurenai.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, yeah! She's really strong too!"

Neji nodded. "Perhaps I should take her to see Dareda."

"Dareda? You think that's good idea?"

"Dareda might hate the Main Family of the Hyuga… But I think he won't hate Hinata-sama."

-----

"You are right, Neji. Her eyes show more potential." Dareda said before facing Hinata. "Hinata-sama. Have you ever felt a strange sensation going through your Byakugan whenever you're fighting a real tough battle?"

Hinata nodded.

"I suggest you teach her the Senshin-Byakugan, Neji."

Neji nodded. "Yes, I was planning to."

------------------------------------------------------------------End Flashback----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji looked at Hinata once. "Hinata-sama. This one is too powerful. Let me handle it."

"N-no! I will fight her as well!" Hinata yelled back.

Yukio shook her head. "Foolish Shinobi. One should not put the other outside of a battle as dangerous as this one."

Shino stepped forward, but was suddenly slammed back by an incredible surge of Chakra. Shigeru Sarutobi was… purple…

Genma and Aoba didn't know what this meant and they were the older Jounins present. Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru didn't know either. Though Orochimaru did notice Yukio put something similar to a Curse Seal in Shigeru's neck.

Shigeru's entire body changed… It didn't take long before he was ONLY Chakra and his head was a… Dragon's head, while his body had become a snake-like body consistent of only Chakra. Now it was no longer Shigeru, but the huge snake-like Dragon, flying above them.

Yukio grinned. "I put a Lightning Seal in his neck and immediately upgraded it to level 2, changing him into this. The amount of Chakra the boy possessed determines how long that snake will be able to live. The less he had, the shorter the snake can fly around like that."

Genma and Aoba jumped sideways to avoid a tackle coming from the huge purple snake. Ino and Sakura couldn't avoid getting hit and were both slammed against the Hokage Tower.

Kiba performed a few hand seals. "This one is ours!! Soutourou!!"

Kiba and Akamaru had both grown into huge sized wolves. The Snake/Dragon that once was Shigeru was heading for them. Kiba and Akamaru got ready. "Garouga!!"

Yukio watched on impressed as her creation and the Inuzuka man and his dog collided, making the ground rumble. "Heh, that blow managed to take the Inuzuka boy and his dog out, but he did manage to stop the Ryuu Bunshin's movement for a while…"

Yukio looked up to see Hinata and Neji look at her with a smile. "You're within the field of our Hakke…"

Yukio chuckled. "Is that so? As you can see, my Chakra flows differently from most Shinobis, so that attack won't work on me."

Neji closed his eyes. "I figured as much. However…" Hinata and Neji both smiled and performed their huge Kaiten combined with their Hyuga Chakra Paralysis…

Yukio was caught in between the two Kaitens and felt she couldn't move, while the Kaiten cut sliced at her. 'What a devious move… they immobilize my Chakra and body movements and perform this slicing Heavenly Spin… Still, they should know not to underestimate me…'

Yukio's Dragon was too busy trying to dodge Neji's Alligator's Water attacks and the Scorpion's poison attacks and Tail stabs. The Dragon failed to avoid the tackled the huge Leopard gave him and he was slowly losing the battle against the three summons.

As the Heavenly Spins stopped, Yukio was still standing between Neji and Hinata, wearing a grin. Neji and Hinata watched in shock as Purple Chakra healed her completely. 'Shit, she's just like Naruto and Gaara!'

Neji quickly performed the Kaiten as he saw Yukio appear behind him. Yukio wasn't much effected by the Heavenly Spin, but stopped her attack nevertheless. "So it is true you can see all around you? I heard you had a blind spot, though."

Neji smiled. "Perhaps." He turned around and faced Yukio. "Bring it."

Yukio and Neji began a little skirmish, but Neji noticed his speed was lower than Yukio's and he got hit several times. Two times did he resort to the Kaiten but it didn't really effect Yukio anymore as her power and Chakra seemed to resist it. Neji jumped backwards, only to see Hinata rushed past him towards Yukio. "Hinata-sama, no!!"

Yukio and Hinata's battle was short-lived as Yukio easily slipped through Hinata's defence and landed a blow powerful enough to make Hinata soar away. Neji caught her in the air and put her on the ground. 'Good, she's still alive.' Neji looked around. 'The Hokage, Jiraiya and that Orochimaru are out of Chakra, Sakura and Ino are also out. Kiba is out cold with Akamaru so that leaves only Chouji, me, Genma, Aoba and Shino.' Neji watched up to see how his summons were doing. 'Good, the Dragon has to defend from three sides, so he has no opportunity to attack back.'

"If you think your summons are winning you've got another thing coming!" Yukio yelled.

Just then, the Dragon flew high in the air and propelled downwards again, smashing the huge alligator deep down into the ground. The impact caused a small earthquake to pass through the area. "Ani!!" Neji screamed, only to see a lot of smoke come out of the hole and a Dragon flying out of it.

"Seems like one your Summons has been beaten." Yukio stated with a grin.

Neji snarled and with his Byakugan he already saw Genma and Aoba doing hand seals. Neji recognised the technique. 'So they can aim the attack too?'

"Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!!" Both Genma and Aoba yelled as they were running forward. Neji smiled as he felt many Shurikens soar past him towards Yukio. Yukio shook her head.

"Fuuton, Furyuukiri!!"

Neji's Byakugan saw how sharp Wind Blades managed to slash all Shurikens away, all of them. Then he watched Chakra formed in the palm of her hand. 'Rasengan! No, that can't be! Only Naruto and Jiraiya know it.'

Yukio smirked. "Ryuu Geiki!!"

A purple-coloured spiky-shaped Chakra ball was going straight at him. 'No time to dodge!'

"Kaunta-Kaiten!!"

Yukio watched on very impressed. 'Ah, so he has made his Heavenly Spin different this time. This one is for countering Chakra attacks instead of Physical attacks, impressive, but there's no way he could defend all of my Dragon Blast…'

Yukio appeared in front of Genma and Aoba, but had to jump away because of a sudden wave of liquid coming at her. She watched as Shino had just puked out poison at her. "Aburame, you are, huh? Well, it seems your fight is not with me…"

Shino barely managed to jump sideways to avoid the Ryuu Bunshin's attack. (the Ryuu Bunshin that was once Shigeru.)

Yukio performed a few hand seals. "Makyou Hyoushou!!"

Genma and Aoba instantly found themselves surrounded by Ice mirrors… Yukio went in one of the mirrors after making sure Neji could not continue fighting.

Neji was on the ground, groaning from the pain the Ryuu Geiki had caused him, even when he had activated the Kaunta-Kaiten. 'Naruto and Gaara better hurry…'

And then, Neji heard the screams inside the strange thing Yukio had created.

Until all mirrors were shattered. Neji managed to look up and see Kakashi, Gai, Shikamaru, Asuma and Kurenai approach. Neji smiled before he put his head back down, resting. 'I'll leave the fight to them…'

Kakashi had to admit, the sight before him was quite breathtaking. On one side he saw the Three Legendary Sennins trying to regain some health. Tsunade was the one looked worst, her appearance like that of an old woman. Kakashi understood what happened. Tsunade won't be able to continue fighting for a while. His eyes narrowed at the shattered mirrors, those mirrors that looked awfully familiar to Haku's Bloodline Limit Technique. Above him, he saw a huge dragon panting after having defeated one huge Scorpion and now had to face a giant leopard, which was also panting.

Kiba and his dog had been beaten. Umino Iruka and Akimichi Chouji both were still in near perfect state. And Aburame Shino was watching as a weird looking purple coloured floating snake was slowly dissipating. Shino was also fine. Orochimaru and Jiraiya were slightly tired but could also continue. So it was him, Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino, Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Iruka against the woman. He also had noted that Genma and Aoba were both too exhausted and hurt to continue. Ten against one, had to work…

Yukio chuckled. "You people just keep appearing! Annoying cockroaches! I'll even the odds a bit!" Before Yukio could do something she looked up to see her summon and Neji's summon both vanish with a puff of smoke. 'They managed to defeat my dragon?! Damn, I guess it's time to go all out… I'm up against ten Shinobis.'

"Let me show you what a reincarnation of the most powerful dragon means!!" Yukio growled as purple Chakra surrounded her. "I can see you are all tired from the fighting already! Well, I'm not, so you will all perish!"

Orochimaru rushed forward, while on the other side Gai did the same.

"Katon, Kasai Denkou!!" Orochimaru screamed. A huge stream of fire combined with electricity shot out of Orochimaru's mouth. Yukio simply expanded the purple Chakra's range around her and managed to negate the two effects of Orochimaru's attack.

"Konoha Gouriki Senpuu!!" Gai yelled.

And the same thing happened. Yukio expanded her Chakra and it sent Gai flying back, landing in front Kakashi's feet.

Yukio this time took the initiative and ran towards Jiraiya. 'I believe he is the strongest here…' Jiraiya snarled as he was leaning against a wall.

Jiraiya jumped away, avoiding the wall-crushing fist, but found Yukio following him. 'Shit, she's really bent on getting me! If only she was a little nicer…'

Jiraiya couldn't act fast as Yukio appeared in front of him and knocked him back on the ground. Yukio formed Chakra in the palm of her hand and threw it towards Jiraiya.

"Ryuu Geiki!!"

Jiraiya rolled sideways and felt the ball of vicious Chakra hit the ground just beside him. Jiraiya was knocked to the side as the impact made the entire ground shake. Yukio wanted to do another Dragon Blast but saw Orochimaru performing seals again.

"Taiyuu Dosu Shikon no Jutsu!!"

Yukio frowned at the many snakes coming from Orochimaru's sleeves. "How stupid. Enough of this… " She shook her head as all snakes were slices to bits as she stated. "Fuuton, Furyuukiri." She continued performing seals. "Kuchiyose, Fusokufuri Ryoukai!"

All f them watched as a human-sized and almost human-looking dragon appeared beside Yukio. She grinned at the others. "This is a dragon, but also somewhat a human. Don't underestimate him, he can rip you apart in seconds." She finished with a grin. "Now, let's continue!"

Yukio descended towards Orochimaru and Jiraiya, while Yukio's summoned creature went for the eight others.

Orochimaru was performing seals again, while Jiraiya had two Rasengans ready in the palms of his hands. "Enjintou no Chakra!" Orochimaru yelled, while a Chakra blade appeared in his right hand. Yukio kept approaching.

"Ryuu Geiki!!" She yelled, on which Jiraiya threw both his Rasengans to counter. The Dragon Blast and the Rasengans cancelled each other out. Orochimaru jumped through the smoke with his Chakra Scalpel, only to get grabbed by his right hand and being dragged away. Jiraiya just managed to see Yukio drag Orochimaru on the roof. He quickly jumped up.

Orochimaru, on the roof, saw his Chakra Blade disappeared because of Yukio's Chakra and she easily broke both his arms. "You and your annoying Jutsus. Now you won't be able to interfere anymore…" She grabbed him by the collar and rammed her fist hard through his ribs. She wanted to hit his head next but was forced to move away and dodge Jiraiya's Fire Attack.

Yukio smiled at Jiraiya. "Your friend won't be able to continue anymore."

"Fool…"

Yukio stared at Orochimaru and watched as blue Chakra healed him.

"The body I possess has a special Chakra, able to heal most wounds." Orochimaru said as he rose. "Unfortunately, I didn't have any Chakra left…" And then he fell back on the ground, unconscious..

"So now it's just you and me, Jiraiya-sama, right?" Yukio said playfully. "Prepare to die…"

Yukio and Jiraiya both crouched, preparing to attack each other. Until a sudden Chakra surge soared throughout the entire area…

Yukio jumped past Jiraiya and immediately wanted to see who had joined their fight.

Jiraiya turned, still on the roof, to see Naruto, Gaara, Lee and Sasuke approach.

Yukio landed in front of the four, ignoring the battle behind her, the battle of Kakashi and the others versus her dragon/human summon. Occasionally she had to dodge, so she jumped towards Naruto and the others. Only to get attacked straight in the face by a sudden appearance of a foot.

Naruto and Gaara grinned to see Mokito in front of them. A short second later, Dareda, Sinobi and Kisame stood next to her.

Dareda turned to look at Naruto and Gaara. "What do you think you two are doing?! He's waiting! Go!"

Naruto and Gaara flinched and remembered they were supposed to go to Itachi first. And instead of doing that they went to help out the others here… They both nodded and disappeared. "Now then, now that that is settled, how about we have a real match here?" Dareda said, getting angrier as he saw Neji lying on the ground.

On top of one of the roofs, Orochimaru crawled over the edge to see who had arrived. 'Ah, Sasuke-kun is here… I better not let him see me…'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Heh, sorry, Itachi…" Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head. "Some people kinda needed our help…" Gaara nodded at what Naruto had said, in truth saying the same thing.

"You two sense the immense Chakra of the woman, right?"

Naruto and Gaara both nodded.

"It is doubtful she can be beaten without both of you at full power…" Itachi reasoned. "She also has a demon, like you two, inside of her. The only difference is, she totally accepts it and has all the power the demon has and her own. You two must be the same. Fight the demons inside of you."

"What about you, Itachi?" Gaara asked. "You are not going to fight?"

Itachi looked at Gaara, not a single emotion swimming over his features. "As soon as I no longer sense my little brother's Chakra and I am sure he is unconscious, I will join the battle, but this needs to be done first."

Itachi performed a long set of difficult hand seals and then put his right hand on Naruto's stomach and his left hand on Gaara's stomach, on their seals…

"Nijuu Teishoukantakai Fuin!!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TBC

Ok, ok!!

First off, I had said to Pyr00tje that I was going to start the battle of the fights Naruto-Kyuubi and Gaara-Shukaku in this chapter, but things kinda… expanded during my writing and this is a nice cliffhanger, heh… sorry.

Second off, please don't think I forgot about things that happened in the past in this fic. I.e. The slaughtering of the Uchiha(Itachi) or Hyuga Clan(Itachi and Dareda) and the War(Orochimaru) or betrayal (Sasuke), but this war is just more important, that'll be all be dealt with later on.

Third off, Please state so if you want me to put up the Jutsu List…

Ok, I think you can guess what that technique does that Itachi last performed.


	19. The Jutsu List

**The Jutsu List.******

A/N: Okay, If some of you readers have objections against some of the techniques I created, please tell me. I really would like to keep this story as realistic as possible, well, considering Naruto realism… Also, please tell me if I have forgotten a Jutsu or gave wrong information…

**A**

_Aisu, Buriza Do no Jutsu: Blizzard Attack _

Chuunin Level Jutsu – Based on Damage amount

This Jutsu created a giant hailstorm around the opponent and strikes gigantic Ice shards into the body. Weaker than Haku's Bloodline attack.

Drains a lot of Chakra

Users: Naruto, Jiraiya, Neji, Itachi, Kakashi, Dareda

_Aisu, Hyouketsu no Jutsu: Freeze Attack_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra use

The user makes the Ice element surround the opponent and freeze him/her in ice.

Drains a lot of Chakra

Users: Neji, Jiraiya, Itachi, Kakashi, Sasuke

_Arm Cannon_

_Own Artificial Skill_

Inside Hiraga's arm, lies a cannon and its fuel is Hiraga's blood, which also happens to be poisonous. Matsu's Arm Cannon is very dangerous

Users: Hiraga Matsu

_Atamagao Kashii: Insane skill_

Jounin Level Jutsu– Based on Chakra manipulation

Mental skill, Particularly focused on the Insanity aspect of a life of an individual.

Users: Morino Ibiki

**B**

_Baika no Jutsu: Multi-Size Skill_

Genin Level Jutsu

The special technique passed down in the Akamichi Clan. Allows you to increase the size of one part or even all of your body for a short time. But it uses up a high amount of calories.

Users: Chouji

_Baisuu Chakra Hiketsu: Multiple Chakra Negations._

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra movement

Neji shoots off Chakra, which he usually uses for his Chakra Chuubu.

Users: Neji, Dareda

_Baisuu Keiyu Katon_

Jounin Level Skill – Because a Summon is needed

A gigantic Fire attack, together with GamaBunta and his oil.

Users: Jiraiya

_Big Rolling Bang! (After second Akamichi Pill)_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Chouji launches himself at a high speed towards his opponent.

Users: Chouji

_Bunretsu: Divide_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra Manipulation

After the Karm no Jutsu is performed, Naruto forces the four elements in the Karm to divide into four attacks.

Users: Naruto, Neji

_Bunshin no Jutsu: Clone Skill_

Student Level Skill

A simple Jutsu that every Ninja must learn in order to graduate to the Genin level. Unlike the Shadow Clone technique, these clones can not attack since they are not physical bodies, therefore their use is more common as a diversion.

_Byakugan: White Eyes_

Bloodline Limit

This in an eye technique similar to Sharingan, which in fact the Sharingan developed from. This technique is unique to the advanced bloodline abilities of the Hyuga clan. The maximum field of vision with the Byakugan is approximately 360 degrees. In other words, a Byakugan user is able to see all his surroundings and he senses all of his opponent's attack. It also allows the user to see through things and Jutsu, but most impressive of al is its ability to see the Inner Coil System and Chakra Holes. Enabling them to attack their opponents' inner organs or even stop the flow of their opponents Chakra.

Users: Neji, Hinata, Dareda, Hiashi, Hizashi, Hanabi, Hyuga Hat

**C**

_Chakra Chuubu: Chakra Paralysis_

Genin Level Skill – Originally taught to Hyuga Main Family

From out of the Chakra Holes, the user uses Chakra to stop his opponent's Chakra flow. It can also nullify any Elementary Chakra Attack.

Users: Neji, Dareda, Hinata, Hanabi, Hiashi, Hizashi, Hyuga Hat

_Chakra Omeikan: Chakra Signature_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra enhancement

Neji uses his Chakra to completely stop the movements of his opponent.

Users: Neji, Dareda, Hinata, Hanabi, Hiashi, Hizashi, Hyuga Hat

_Chidori: Lightning Edge_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra use

Kakashi's ONLY original move and Sasuke copied it.

Drains a lot of Chakra

Users: Kakashi, Sasuke

_Choureppaken: Super Charge_

Using all his Chakra, the user goes completely crazy and rushes forward, as a last attempt to win the battle. After performed the user goes unconscious.

Users: Takabashi Nakao

_Curse Seal level 1:_

Just by releasing Chakra the Curse Seal becomes active and forcibly pulls out Chakra, making the person stronger. At this point the small mark on the neck grows to wrap around their whole body, and causes them to lose control of their actions. It's a forbidden Jutsu which, when active, eats at the person's body.

Users: Sasuke, Tayuya, Kidoumaru, Jiroubou, Sakon, Kimimaro, Anko

_Curse Seal level 2:_

Just by releasing Chakra the Curse Seal becomes active and forcibly pulls out Chakra, making the person stronger than with level 1. At this point the small mark on the neck grows to wrap around their whole body, and causes them to lose control of their actions. It's a forbidden Jutsu which, when active, eats at the person's body even faster than with level 1.

Users: Sasuke, Kimimaro, Tayuya, Sakon, Jiroubou, Kidoumaru

**D**

_Daisan no Me: The Third Eye_

Genin Level Skill

Creating an eye out of sand and controlling it with Chakra, this technique is useful for gathering information. It can also be used as part of another Jutsu, like the Shield of Sand. If the Shield of Sand completely surrounds the user, for instance, then the Third Eye can be conjured outside the ball so the user inside can see their opponent.

Users: Gaara

_Daitakegari: Great Mushroom Gathering_

The Jutsu summons forth mushrooms from the mass of spores, forcibly initiating the Chakra force of the spores and pushing it forward into fully grown mushrooms. I planned that a highly skilled user would be able to bring out three to four mushrooms at the very maximum, this draining the Chakra pool already heavily (if he/she is really badass, then 10 mushrooms with a large Chakra mass should be ok too -- they'd just turn the whole area into an acidic mess pretty swiftly then).

Users: Kinokomaru Kutake

_Dance of the Camellia: _

When this skill is performed by a member of the Kaguya Clan it is far more deadly. The user Uses his/her own bones, or in Ino's case swords and stabs at the opponent like one hundred times in one second.

Users: Kimimaro, Ino

_Dance of the Willows:_

When this skill is performed by a member of the Kaguya Clan it is far more deadly. The user Uses his/her own bones, or in Ino's case swords and to defend from any coming attacks while at the same time attacking right back.

Users: Kimimaro, Ino

_Dendou Bouffuu: Electric Storm_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra manipulation and damage amount

Hundreds of Lightning Bolts will descend from the sky, onto the opponent. This Jutsu uses up a lot of Chakra.

Users: Sinobi Raidou

_Denkou Juin: Lightning Seal_

1st Level – Master had control from larger distances, depending on the victim's power

2nd Level – Ryuu Bunshin: Victim turns into a snake with a dragon head, extremely powerful… It extracts all Chakra from the victim's body until he/she dies…

Users: Fetaru Yukio

_Dokouken: Venom Strike_

Finishing move after a combo, poison induced.

Users: Takabashi Nakao

_Doku Amaashi: Poisonous Rain_

Skill of the Summoning

Manda releases the toxic, the poison in his mouth, while towering high above his opponents.

Users: Manda, Dakats

_Doku Chakra Senbon: Chakra-based Poison Needles_

Jounin Level Jutsu – based on Chakra manipulation

Shino can manipulate his own Chakra and make it poisonous, because he is of the Aburame Clan and his bugs have the potential to evolve into poisonous bugs. He forms his Chakra into needles and makes them surround his fingers, ready to shoot them at his opponent(s).

Users: Shino

_Dosu Shikon no Jutsu: Poison Fang Attack_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Summon required

Anko makes snakes attack her opponents. Poisonous snakes.

Users: Orochimaru, Anko, Sasuke

**_Doton Doroku Gaeshi: Earth Flip _**__

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra Manipulation

This barrier type skill, created by hitting the ground extremely hard, causing a large chunk of earth to flip up, creating an effective barrier against most attacks.

**Users: Jiroubou, Chouji**

**_Doton Doryou Dango: Mud Cannonball_**

Chuunin Level Jutsu

This Jutsu allows the user to lift a gigantic boulder from the earth which he then tosses as his enemy with tremendous force.

Users: Jiroubou, Chouji

_Doton Kekkai Doroudoumu: Clay Prison _

Chuunin Level Jutsu

This Jutsu creates a dome of earth over the enemy, with a layer of Chakra between the layers of rock, than automatically regenerates when damaged, which makes escape very difficult. The user is also able to absorb the Chakra of the enemies trapped inside the Clay Prison. This Jutsu does have a weakness however, as the layer of Chakra inside is not distributed evenly, and so regeneration is slower at certain points, and the wall is weaker.

Users: Jiroubou, Chouji

_Doton Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu: Inner Decapitation_

Chuunin Level Skill

The user hides underground and grabs the legs of his/her victim, then pulls them under leaving their head above ground and vulnerable to a more deadly attack.

Users: Kakashi, Sasuke, Shino

_Doton, Tsuchi Kaijou Toujyou: Earth Creature Summoning_

Jounin Level Jutsu – based on Chakra amount

Using a high amount of Chakra, the user creates creatures of mud and stone from out of the ground. These creatures don't have a mind of their own and simply attack all except for the one who summoned them.

Users: Jiraiya, Tayuya, Sukumi Tachi

_Doton Tsuiga no Jutsu: Tracking Fang Skill_

Jounin Level Skill – Because a Summon is required

A dog summoning Jutsu, these Ninja Dogs rise from the ground and attack their target by incapacitating him, leaving the victim open to more deadly attacks. These dogs can also be summoned individually for smaller jobs.

Users: Kakashi

_Doubuken TaiJutsu_

divided into four categories:   
- Wild Boar Style, Inoshiryuu, beginner level   
- Flying Swallow Style, Hienryuu, intermediate level   
- Bear Style, Kumaryuu, advanced level   
- Tiger Style, Toraryuu, master level

- Dragon Style, Ryuuken, dragon level

Users: Takabashi Serra(master level), Takabashi Nakao(intermediate level)

_Doubuken: Shin Doubuken Style_

Nakao's own Doubuken TaiJutsu style, mainly a street fighting-style of battling, but when performed it could be considered equal to the Doubuken TaiJutsu master level.

Users: Takabashi Nakao

**E**

_Ekisu Konchuu: Extraction Bugs_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Similar to Neji's Sanmai no Jutsu, the Extraction Bugs spread out towards their opponent to draw out Chakra and place it in their master.

Users: Shino, Turin

_Ember: Above master level, but below dragon level…_

Bloodline Limit

With this, the user enhances all his/her senses and performs far above her real capabilities…

Users: Takabashi Serra

_Endoresu Kenro: Endless Path_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Shigeru places his own Chakra on his opponent, to delude the opponent's senses. The opponent will think he/she is doing something, but in the end, he/she is doing nothing at all. In terms of moving forward or backward, that is.

Users: Shigeru, Sakura

**_Enjintou no Chakra: Chakra Scalpel_**

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra manipulation

This Jutsu, created for surgical purposes, is also effective in battle to a lesser extent. By focusing Chakra around the hand into a sharp blade of energy, the user is able to sever muscles, tendons, and even the Inner Coils System. When in battle, it is harder to concentrate Chakra and maintain it in the correct shape, so the cuts cannot go as deep, making it difficult to kill an opponent with the Chakra Scalpel unless attacking the neck with precision. However, it is useful to incapacitate an enemy without killing them. It's virtually a type of Gentle Fist TaiJutsu that cuts inner organs.

Users: Tsunade, Kabuto

_Ensho no Jutsu: Heat Wave_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra use

The user makes the environment closed to unbearable with intense heat.

Users: Jiraiya, Naruto

**F**

_Feathery Sleep:_

Jounin Level Skill

This Jutsu is used to put one or even a very large group of people into a long deep sleep.

Users: Kabuto, Kakashi, Sakura, Hinata, Kurenai

_Fuchi Chuubu: Surrounding Chakra Paralysis_

Jounin Level Jutsu

Performing Kaiten, he also performs Chakra Chuubu. This makes it an absolute defence.

Drains a lot of Chakra

Users: Neji, Hiashi, Hizashi, Dareda

_Fukyuu Hidari: Eternal Left_

Genin Level Jutsu

To the opponent, it will seem that the user will always be to his left. Of course… there's also an Eternal Right.

Users: Sakura, Shigeru

_Furou Fushi no Jutsu: Immortality Skill_

Forbidden Jutsu

This Jutsu is a skill where you anchor your spirit to this world forever. In other words, it's a reincarnation spell where you find a new body, enter it with your spirit and gain possession of it.

Users: Orochimaru

_Fuuja Houin: Evil Sealing Method_

Jounin Level Skill – Special Sealing Method

This Seal negates the effect of the Curse Seal, making the effects of it significantly weaker; although, it is very important that the person it has been preformed on maintains control of their emotions.

Users: Kakashi, Jiraiya, Orochimaru

_Fuuton, Furyuukiri (Wind Dragon Blades)_

Used as an absolute defence… The wind is razor sharp around the user and slices all attacks and opponents that come close enough…

Users: Fetaru Yukio

_Fuuton Renkuudan: Wind Blast_

Originally Shukaku's move, but Gaara learned it and Kakashi and Itachi learned it from Gaara through their Sharingan. The user blasts a massive amount of wind and Chakra out of his/her mouth.

Users: Gaara, Shukaku, Kakashi, Itachi

**G**

_GamaGuchi Shibari_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Difficulty

A Jutsu where Jiraiya moves his opponent into a stomach.

Users: Jiraiya

_Gangeki: __Boulder__ Strike _

Chuunin Level Jutsu

An amazingly hard punch. A popular stand-alone strike for someone like Jiroubou, who can put a lot of weight and power behind simple TaiJutsu like this.

Users: Jiroubou, Chouji

_Garouga: Double Wolf Fang _

Bloodline Limit

Double attack, the user will spin harder, faster and more dangerous than the Piercing Fang, in the Double Headed-Wolf state…

Users: Kiba

_Gatsuuga: Piercing Fang:_

Genin Level Jutsu

Powerful Beast Human TaiJutsu Skill where the user spins at a ferocious speed toward the opponent, aiming to cut and scratch them with the claws. Most effective when performed by two or more people/animals.

Users: Kiba

_Gekido, Kyouran Kougeki: Raging Fury Attack..._

Genin Level Jutsu

Simply put: Adrenaline-rush. The user uses all ways to control him/herself and explodes with Chakra to attack.

Users: Kiba

_Gogyou Fuuin: Five Part Seal_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra manipulation

This Seal, being an odd number Seal, causes the Seal on Naruto's stomach, an even number Seal, to be negated.

Users: Orochimaru, Jiraiya

_Gogyou Kaiin: Five Part Seal Release_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Seal

This Seal dispels the Five Part Seal that was added onto the Seal on Naruto's belly. Allowing Naruto to, once again, be able to control his Chakra properly, and be able to access Kyuubi's Chakra and tap into it at will.

Users: Jiraiya, Orochimaru

_Gururi, Heiki no Jutsu: Surrounding weapons..._

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Using her Chakra, Ten-ten can manipulate the movements of the weapons, making them float and continuously letting them attack the opponent.

Users: Ten-Ten

**H**

_Hakaze Atemi: Breeze Strike_

Jounin Level Jutsu – based on Chakra manipulation

Harsh attack; with usage of the winds and his own Chakra he sends hardened and very sharp leaves towards his opponents.

Users: Hatsu Heishou, Sasuke

_Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou: 64 Opening Points Attack_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Difficulty

A collection of Gentle Fist TaiJutsu attacks that is designed to close all of the 64 Chakra Holes of the body, leaving the target completely incapable of using their Chakra. First, the user presses the first two points, then four, then eight, then sixteen, then thirty-two, followed by the final sixty-four attacks.

Users: Neji, Hinata, Dareda, Hiashi, Hizashi, Hanabi, Hyuga Hat

_Hakkeshou Kaiten: The Heavenly Spin_

Chuunin Level Skill – Based on Difficulty

This is Neji's defence and offence. At the exact moment he receives a blow he expels a large amount of Chakra from all the Chakra Holes of his body. With that Chakra, he stops the attack of the enemy and making his body spin like a top, he pushes them back with equal force. It is very difficult to control the Chakra expelled from the Chakra Holes and even Jounin are only able to use the Chakra from a certain part of the body in a Jutsu. But Neji, who mastered the Jyuken(Gentle Fist), is able to expel Chakra from his whole body and is able to defeat a physical attack with that alone. It could be said that it's even stronger than Gaara's Defense. Kaiten is the Hyuga Main Branch (Souke)'s Jutsu, in other words, it's the secret Jutsu that is passed on only to the next generation Hyuga successor by word of mouth. For Neji, a member of the Bunke to create it on his own is remarkable proof of his genius.

Users: Neji, Hinata, Dareda, Hiashi, Hizashi, Hanabi, Hyuga Hat

_Hangetsuzan - Half Moon Slash _

Gaara transforms one of his arms into Shukaku's arm and then unleashes its power and speed onto his opponents._  
_Users: Gaara

_Hanrinezumi: Hedgehog Attack_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra manipulation

Jiraiya extends his own hair, hardens it a great deal and surround himself with it. He then forms into a ball and rolls towards the enemy. His hair is formed into dangerous sharp spikes which can hit the enemy. If he can see the enemy he will extend his hair even more and heighten the accuracy of his hits.

Users: Jiraiya

_Harem no Jutsu_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Because of the Kage Bunshin

Naruto combines the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and the Henge no Jutsu.

Users: Naruto

_Harem ChiChi no Jutsu_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Because of the Kage Bunshin

Similar to Harem no Jutsu, only all the girls have very huge boobs.

Users: Naruto

_Hatsuiku Karamiau: Growth Entanglement_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Difficulty

Using plants, weeds or even trees, the opponent will be completely stuck in them.

Users: Hatsu Heishou

_Hatsuiku Sekisho: Growth Barrier_

Jounin Level Jutsu – based on Chakra manipulation

The user surrounds herself with an entire forest, if necessarily.

Users: Hatsu Heishou

_Henge no Jutsu: Transformation Skill_

Student Level Skill

Gives oneself the appearance of another person or an object. This is a common Skill.

_Hibiki Ayatsuri: Sound Manipulations_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra manipulation

All kinds of sound around the user will be used as a weapon.

Users: Teri Kinuta

_Hienryuujinkyaku: Flying Dragon God Kick   
_Finishing move for the Dragon Combo, when performed in the air.

Users: Fetaru Yukio

_Hien__ Zan: Flying Slash_

A finishing move for one of her combo's.

Users: Takabashi Serra

_Hishouken: Flying Chakra Fist_

Using a high amount of Chakra, Nakao can leap real high and counter any elementary attack with a simply move of his fist. His attacks also contain more power thanks to the Chakra.

Users: Takabashi Nakao

**_Houin Fuukoku: Dark Seal _****__**

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra manipulation

A Jutsu, performed after the Four Seals of the Dark Mist, which clamps seal notes to the top of a coffin to prevent it opening before the Curse Seal Level 2 coma is complete.

Users: The Sound Four

_Houshi Bouhuu: Spore Storm_  
I thought this might be several concentrated spore waves (gathered mostly from the pollen already in the air to make it more economical) going at the enemy with decently fast motion (more Chakra the faster it becomes), be it spiralling storms or wind or whatever the Houshi ninja fancies and has the Chakra control to execute.   
Users: Kinokomaru Kutake__

_Houshi Bunshin: Spore Clone_

A Clone consistent of Spores, too dangerous to physically touch.

Users: Kinokomaru Kutake

_Houshitoku: Spore Skin_  
A defensive spore concentration around the user, which explodes the light and resistant Chakra pollen out to the environment at a large radius (20-30 meters to one direction) with each decent hit against it. This is a natural characteristic of the pollen, so it doesn't require extra Chakra control (it does if the user wants to keep the shield from exploding). Meihoushi version can deflect incoming attacks slightly, resulting in violent bursts of spores at the target but no real physical help against TaiJutsu of very normal level. The Sokuhoushi version

Users: Kinokomaru Kutake

_Hyousoundare: Avalanche_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra use

The user creates a diagonal battlefield and releases an avalanche from the top on his/her opponent(s)

Users: Jiraiya, Naruto

**I**

_Icchou Fukashi: Temporarily Invisibility_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra use

Shigeru becomes temporarily invisible to his opponent. This Jutsu uses up a lot of Chakra.

Users: Sakura, Shigeru

_Ikuta Zanzou_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra manipulation

The user attaches his/her own Chakra on him/herself. The Chakra pushes all other forms of Chakra away, or makes the user get away instantly.

Users: Shigeru, Baeda

_Inner Sakura Power_

Chuunin Level Skill – Based on exhaustion rate

Similar to Tsunade, Sakura uses her frustration for power. But Sakura can only manage about two hits, much less powerful than Tsunade's blows.

After two hits, Sakura is basically down, because it's very tiring..

Users: Sakura

_Inonishi__ Rendan – Wild Boar Combo_

A fast Chakra induced combo. Only TaiJutsu

Users: Takabashi Serra, Takabashi Nakao

_Ishi Bunshin_

Genin Level Jutsu

I don't think I have to explain myself, right?

Users: Dobei Heki, Sukumi Tachi

_Ishi Katame: Hardened Stone defence_

Genin Level Jutsu

Using Stone as an element, the user hardens his own body entirely, making it almost impossible to harm.

Users: Dobei Heki, Ageru Tsumi, Sukumi Tachi

_Ishi no Tate: Shield of Stone_

Genin Level Jutsu

Users: Tsuchikage

_Itsuha Chakra no Katana: Chakra Release_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Difficulty

Kisame's Samehada can eat Chakra, but stores it as well. Kisame can use this special Jutsu to release the Chakra it has eaten and use it for his own.

Users: Kisame

**J**

_Jaei Ken: Evil Shadow Fist_

Finishing Killing move for a Combo.

Users: Takabashi Nakao

_Jiboujiki: Despair Attack_

Jounin Level Jutsu– Based on Chakra manipulation

Mental skill, Particularly focused on the Desperation aspect of a life of an individual.

Users: Morino Ibiki

_Jishin no Jutsu: Earthquake _

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on difficulty

The ground beneath the opponent will crumble and capture him/her.

Users: Sasuke, Kakashi, Sukumi Tachi

_Juin Jutsu: Curse Seal_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Difficulty

Performed by the wicked Orochimaru on Sasuke during the second portion of the Chuunin exam. He also did the same seal on Anko in years past. Receiving the small mark which appears on the neck through a bite from Orochimaru, afterwards the receiver falls unconscious. Then, if they are strong enough to survive the 9/10 chance of immediate death, they regain consciousness. Just by releasing Chakra the Curse Seal becomes active and forcibly pulls out Chakra, making the person stronger. At this point the small mark on the neck grows to wrap around their whole body, and causes them to lose control of their actions. It's a forbidden Jutsu which, when active, eats at the person's body.

Users: Orochimaru

_Juujin Bunshin: Beast Human Clone_

Genin Level Jutsu

In coordination with an animal, the user creates a perfect likeness of that creature, and vice-versa with the beast assuming the form of the person.

Users: Kiba

**K**

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Shadow Clones_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra use

The user creates actual bodies, but all clones he/she creates combined have the same power as the original user. One hit will make them disappear.

Drains a lot of Chakra

Users: Naruto, Kakashi, Sasuke, Orochimaru

_Kage Byou: Shadow Leaf Dance_

Genin Level Jutsu

A technique used to attach the user to their opponents shadow. Once done, the victim is in a vulnerable position to a more damaging attack. Such as Initial Lotus or less advanced attacks, like the Lion Combo.

Users: Lee, Sasuke, Gai

_Kage Henkei no Jutsu: Shadow Transformation_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra Amount

Users: Hiraga Matsu

_Kage Jiten Shuriken no Jutsu: Spinning Shadow Shuriken Skill_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra amount

Same as Kage Shuriken, only the Shurikens spin around Sasuke the entire time, sort of like an absolute defence.

Users: Sasuke

_Kage Kubishibaru: Shadow Neck Bind_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra amount

Users: Shikamaru, Shikato

_Kage Mane no Jutsu: Shadow Copy Skill_

Genin Level Jutsu

Ones shadow is extended to the opponent's combining them. This puts the attacker in control of the opponent's movements. It is an extreme versatile technique, since, with a lot of skill, the shadow can be stretched and bent and can even paralyse a group of people at one time. The shadow can also be connected with other inanimate objects so it can be extended. The Jutsu does have a time limit, however, which is roughly 5 minutes.

Users: Shikamaru, Shikato

_Kage no Tate: Shield of Shadow._

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Everything that touches the user will be in control of the user.

Users: Shikamaru, Shikato

_Kage Ryudan no Jutsu (Shadow Dragon Strike)_

Using a massive amount of Chakra, destructive Shadows shoot out from the user's body and destroys all it comes in contact with

Users: Fetaru Yukio

_Kage Shuriken no Jutsu: Shadow Shuriken Skill_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

A simple, but often effective technique. When throwing a Shuriken, another Shuriken is underneath hiding in the original one's shadow. The principal being that the enemy will concentrate on the real one and not see the one in the shadow, and will only realise there is a second one when it is too late to dodge or block.

Users: Sasuke, Kakashi, Orochimaru, Itachi

_Kai: Cancel_

Chuunin Level Skill

This Jutsu allows a person to not be caught in an Illusion Jutsu. Using the same hand seal and incantation (Kai), this Jutsu (or a similar one) can also be used to break an illusion (e.g. wake a sleeping person.) With the Yamanaka Clan, this Jutsu is used to undo the Shintenshin no Jutsu.

_Kaihan Kage Mane no Jutsu: Revised Shadow Copy Skill_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

The shadows around the user are too dangerous to tread. The only things you can do to defeat this Jutsu are distance attacks. Once you tread the shadows, you're in his/her control.

Users: Shikamaru, Shikato

_Kakuro: Black Fire Attack_

Jounin Level skill – Based on Chakra Manipulation

A follow-up after using Amaterasu

Users: Itachi

_Kamaitachi: Slashing Wind_

Genin Level Jutsu

A Jutsu that, using a giant fan, causes huge gusts of wind to attack the enemy. These powerful winds can travel very far, and cut through the surrounding area and the enemy with ease. And, because they are created without the use of Chakra, or hand seals, they can be used over and over, as long as the user has enough stamina to perform the basic swing of the huge fan.

Users: Temari, Doro Odei

_Karm no Jutsu: Mega-Flare_

Jounin Level no Jutsu – Based on Chakra manipulation

After practising, Naruto came to know that not all elements can be combined in one Jutsu. But when you diverse the amount of an element it proved possible. This way, one attack flows over to another, while this is just one attack. Fire follows water or the other way around, the same with Electricity and Ice, whichever will damage the opponent more.

Users: Naruto, Neji, Sasuke

_Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu: Fireball Skill_

Chuunin Level Jutsu – Based on Damage

Using a high amount of Chakra, it is where a ninja breathes out a huge ball of fire through their mouth, can be devastating.

Users: Sasuke, Kakashi, Itachi

_Katon Housenka: Mythical Fire Flower_

Genin Level Jutsu

A Jutsu which fires several balls of fire from the mouth at ones target. Can also be done with hidden Shurikens inside the flames. That makes the attack hidden and unexpected and also leaves an opening for attack.

Users: Sasuke, Kakashi, Itachi

_Katon, Inferuno: Inferno_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra use and amount of damage

A huge Fire attack, very Chakra consuming. The area around the opponent will be completely surrounded with Fire, the opponent will also be covered with fire.

Drains a lot of Chakra

Users: Sasuke, Kakashi

_Katon, Karyu Endan: Stream of Fire_

Jounin Level Jutsu – based on Chakra amount

A Katon (flame type) Ninjutsu technique where the ninja inhales deeply, drawing in a full chest of air. They then exhale, producing a very wide stream of flames that approach their target as a huge wall

Users: Sasuke, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Orochimaru

_Katon, __Kasai__ Denkou: Fire and Electricity Attack_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra combination

Orochimaru combines the elements Fire and Electricity and for an attack and target his opponents with it.

Users: Orochimaru

_Katon, Kuroi Bakufuu no Jutsu: Black Fire Ball_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra manipulation

A follow-up after activating the Amaterasu Eyes.

The Jutsu Itachi used to escape from Jiraiya's/Frog's Stomach in the Manga. I just made up this name.

Users: Itachi

_Katon, Ryuuka no Jutsu: Dragon Fire Skill_

Genin Level Jutsu

In this instance the attack sends fire along a string towards the enemy. The fire comes out from the users' mouth.

Users: Sasuke, Kakashi, Itachi

_Katon TaiJutsu: Fire Fighting Style_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on endurance

Mokito surrounds herself with fire and uses her spectacular TaiJutsu, while her punches and kicks carry fire with them.

Users: Mokito

_Katon Tate: Fire Shield_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra use

GamaBunta sprays oil all over himself and Jiraiya to protect themselves from attacks. Jiraiya shoots fire on the oil so nothing can come through. This defence will however also damage the user.

Drains a lot of Chakra

Users: Jiraiya

_Katouken__: Fire Fist_

With this Jutsu, the user adds even more power and fire to her attacks.

Users: Takabashi Serra

_Kaunta-Kaiten: Special Counter Heavenly Spin_

Bloodline Limit

This Advanced Kaiten will completely protect the user and doubles the effort the opponent is making to hit him and making that hit power hit the opponent him/herself.

Users: Neji, Dareda

_Kawarimi no Jutsu: Body Substitute Skill_

Student Level Skill

Usually used to quickly replace your body with that of a plant or animal. Can be very useful for avoiding attacks and even damaging your opponent in the process. This will usually confuse your opponent and create a chance to attack. A fairly common Jutsu, it is one of the basic Jutsu a Ninja must learn before graduating to the Genin level.

_Kibaku Wana: Exploding Trap_  
A Houshi Bunshin that explodes on the victim when attacked. A Henge is used on the spore cloud to make it seem and act like the Jutsu user. Meihoushin naturally explodes as only a burst of wind to the normal eye.

Users: Kinokomaru Kutake

_Kikai Bunshin no Jutsu: Bug Clone Skill:_

Genin Level Jutsu

This Jutsu creates a complete replica of the user out of the bugs stored inside the body.

Users: Shino, Turin

_Kikaichuu: Bug Host Skill:_

Genin Level Jutsu

The Aburame Clan are famed for their use of bugs in their Jutsu. When a child is born, their body is offered to insects, called Destruction Bugs, as a nest. The bugs feed and live off the Chakra which the body stores and in return the Ninja gets to control and command the bugs, using them as their primary fighting technique.

Users: Shino, Turin

_Kindokuya (Mushroom Poison Arrows; this is Tokuya with Daitakegari performed)   
_The Kindokuya arrows ("ya" means arrow/arrows here) being parts of intelligent mushrooms (providing they ARE parts of the intelligent mushrooms) can take part in combat after being thrown by spitting Kyuusei spores around. They might disappear when the summoning Jutsu is broken (see explanation later). The mushroom fungus bacteria can swallow back up the strength left on each of the Kindokuya arrows, if they can reach them. The Jutsu is delayed while the mushrooms form parts of themselves into Kindokuya arrows (happen swiftly, but not instantly).

Users: Kinokomaru Kutake

_Kirimaku: Scatter Attack_  
Shoots forcibly out spores to a maximum range of about 20 meters around the user. The larger clouds head out slowly towards the general direction the user decides.

Users: Kinokomaru Kutake

_Konchuu Bakuhatsu: Bug Explosion_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Explosion Bugs surround the opponent and… well… explode..

Users: Shino, Turin

_Konoha Reppuu: Leaf Violent Wind_

Genin Level Jutsu

A spinning technique in which the arm is used to take out the opponents legs from under them. This is just very basic TaiJutsu, though it may be followed by a more powerful technique.

Users: Lee, Sasuke, Gai

_Konoha Senpuu: Leaf Spinning Wind_

Genin Level Jutsu

Similar to Leaf Violent Wind but perhaps stronger. It is a powerful roundhouse kick performed in the ground or in the air, and sometimes is followed by the Shadow Leaf Dance attack.

Users: Lee, Sasuke, Gai

_Kouken: Tiger Fist_

With this Jutsu, the user adds even more power and lethalness to her attacks.

Users: Takabashi Serra

_Koukkuu: Tiger Kick_

A finishing move for one of her combo's.

Users: Takabashi Serra

_Kuchiyose Edotensei: Impure World Resurrection___

Forbidden Jutsu

This is a Summoning Jutsu that brings the dead back to life in this world. Based on the strength of the user, the more powerful the dead person raised can be. The dead rise from the surface the user is standing upon in coffins. Due to a talisman the user buries in their heads, their personalities can be wiped clean or controlled, turning them into mere killing machines. This Jutsu that summons the souls of the dead back into their bodies, can also be used to possess the bodies of offered living persons. Attacking the actual bodies of souls wrapped up in this Jutsu is pointless, as they cannot be hurt and their body parts will re-manifest themselves. This is a forbidden Jutsu.

Users: Orochimaru

_Kuchiyose, Fusokufuri Ryoukai: Summoning All-element Dragon_

User summons a dragon of all elements, which is able to absorb all elementary attacks and use it as his own power.

Users: Fetaru Yukio

_Kuchiyose: Kirikiri Mai: Summoning: Execution Whirl_

Using the summoning technique, the user releases a massive and destructive wind blast, able to kill from far distances even.

Users: Temari, Doro Odei

_Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Summoning Skill_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra Use

This Jutsu, using a contract, Seal, and the users' blood causes the manifestation of an animal. The type of animal is determined by the contract, and Seal preformed. The blood is used as a signature to make the contract, which can be written on a scroll or tattoo, valid. With this Jutsu, the user can summon varying sizes of the creature they have a contract with, all of which seem to be related.

Users: Naruto, Gaara, Neji, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Sasuke, Sakura, Shino, Iruka, Kakashi, Doro Odei, Hatsu Heishou, Teri Kinuta, Fetaru Yukio, Sukumi Tachi, Aburame Turin,

_Kugutsu no Jutsu:_

Chuunin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra control

Controlling a doll and using it as a weapon with your Chakra. Just like a marionette, Chakra extends from the users fingers to move the puppet which can be small, life size or even bigger. This skill is often used in co-ordination with the Kawarimi technique, so the user can quickly replace his or her body with the puppet. Another useful quality of this skill is the fact that the puppet can take the form of another person, object, or, more commonly, the form of the user.

Users: Kankurou

**_Kumonenkin: Golden Spider Spikes_**

Chuunin Level Jutsu

A Jutsu that turns Kidoumaru's natural spider webbing into weapons. Gold in appearance, they are stronger than steel and can be shaped to Kidoumaru's will. For example, he can make kunai-style throwing weapons and, when in Cursed Seal level 2 form, he seems to favour using this Jutsu to create a bow and arrows.

Users: Kidoumaru

_Kuragari Okkanai no Jutsu: Dark Fright Attack_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra Manipulation

Mental attack, where the mind will be manipulated in a very frightening way, making the opponent ONLY see the negative side of his life, a hundred times over. This Jutsu uses up a lot of Chakra.

Users: Morino Ibiki, Orochimaru, Itachi

_Kuusajin__ - Air Sand Blaster_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra Use  
Users: Temari

_Kyoubou Bakuhatsu: Berserker Explosion_

Kyuubi Chakra involved

Naruto creates a Clone with Kyuubi Chakra and lets it explode in front of the opponent(s)

Users: Naruto

_Kyoubou Bunshin: Kyuubi Chakra Clone_

Kyuubi Chakra involved

Naruto uses Kyuubi Chakra to create a clone; the clones are extra strong and use a small amount Kyuubi Chakra. Naruto calls it 'Kyuubi Bunshin' when familiar people from his old Village aren't around. This of course excludes Neji.

Users: Naruto

_Kyoubou Kyuubi no Jutsu: Berserker_

Kyuubi Chakra involved

Naruto taps into Kyuubi's power and fights with it. If he taps in it too much, he will lose control. But to a certain amount he has complete control.

Heals wounds completely and restores Chakra Stamina.

Users: Naruto

**M**

_Maikiri: Lethal Whirl_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra use

Sharp sand and Chakra whirls around himself and his opponents. Eventually the sand will squeeze him and the opponents and since the sand is also very sharp, all will be ripped apart.

Users: Kazekage

_Mange Sharingan: Advanced Sharingan_

Bloodline Limit

Three comma's required and true Uchiha Blood..

Users: Itachi, Sasuke

_Meihoushi: Dark Spores_  
Spores with minimal Chakra properties to increase their survival in the air and on the ground. They are invisible to a normal eye, and only a faint constant pressure to someone trying to sense Chakra. The spores don't cause any damages in small doses, but breathing air rich with Meihoushi for about 10 minutes would cause lung puncturing, resulting in internal bleeding and most likely death by choking (the lungs get filled with blood). Eyes are another weak point against the spores.   
Users: Kinokomaru Kutake

_Michisujimawari: Circle Delusion_

Used as a trap. The victim(s) will walk in circles until they notice the Genjutsu.

Users: Hyuga Dareda

_Mikazuki no Mai: Dance of the Crescent Moon_

The user uses two other forms of him or herself, who are also holding swords and attack the opponent from three different angles. Which on the real user is the opponent can not see.

Users: Gekkou Hayate, Ino

_Mizu Bunshin: Water Clone Skill_

Chuunin Level Skill

Creates one or multiple identical copies of the original out of water. More similar to Kage Bunshin then a regular Bunshin, Water Clones are capable of attacking, except each Clone is 1/10 the power of the original. Also, the clone can only be controlled within a certain radius of the user.

Users: Kakashi, Kisame, Itachi

_Mokunen: Total Silence_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra complexity

Teri uses her Chakra to affect the hearing system of her opponent(s). Her opponent goes completely deaf, except he or she can still hear one particular frequency of sound.. and that is Teri's voice…

Users: Teri Kinuta

**N**

_Naruto Rendan_

Genin Level Jutsu

After watching the Lion Combo Sasuke used, which he copied from Lee, Naruto used this very similar attack.

Drains almost no Chakra

Users: Naruto

_Nijuu: Double_

Often put in front of a technique to perform it twice.

_Nijuu Ishi Tanken: Double Stone Daggers_

Genin Level Jutsu

The user forms stone daggers to use as weapons in his hands.

Users: Dobei Heki, Sukumi Tachi

_Nijuu Maruishi: Double Boulders(Hands)_

Genin Level Jutsu

Dropping off his own hands, he forms them into massive boulders. He can control the boulders as if they were his own hands. And he can reach as far as he wants.

Users: Dobei Heki, Ageru Tsumi, Sukumi Tachi

_Nijuu, Suiton, Suiryuudan no Jutsu: Double Water Dragon Blast Skill_

Jounin Level Jutsu – based on Chakra Amount

Powerful attack that creates a huge current of water in the shape of a dragon, which is sent towards the opponent. This Jutsu can only be done when in or near a body of water (unless your a super wicked Ninja

Users: Okurujin as **Onjirkuu**

_Nikudan Sensha: Meat Tank_

Genin Level Jutsu

The special technique passed down in the Akamichi Clan. Allows you to increase the size of one part or even all of your body for a short time. But it uses up a high amount of calories.

Users: Chouji

_Numa Yomi: Swamp of the Underworld_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra use

The user creates a gigantic swamp to entrap the opponent(s)

Users: Jiraiya, Naruto

**O**

_Old Blood Awakening:_

Own Skill

Kabuto had been revived, and the old blood of his previous life is merged with new blood, which makes him bloodthirsty and ruthless.

Users: Kabuto

_Omote Renge: Initial Lotus_

Genin Level Jutsu

This technique puts a lot of strain on your muscle fibres. It is basically a suicidal attack. Normally, humans use the power of their muscles at only about 20 percent of it's full power. If you use 100 percent, the muscles themselves will be destroyed. Thus normally your brain is holding down this power, but this technique releases the brain's limiters by opening the Initial Gate using Chakra. The muscle power to use multiple super speed TaiJutsu. The user wraps his target in bandages so he can't protect himself, then sends him head first into the ground. Usually preceded by Shadow Leaf Dance.

Users: Lee, Gai, Mokito

_Oroike  no__ Jutsu: Sexy no Jutsu_

Student Level Jutsu

Naruto's first original Skill, where he uses Henge to transform into a naked girl.

Users: Naruto

_Otori: Distraction_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Shigeru leaves an after-image of himself as he himself appears elsewhere, ready to strike the opponent. Often combined with Icchou Fukashi.

Users: Sakura, Shigeru

**R**

_Raihou: Ground Blaster_

Using a leap by use of Chakra, Nakao descends with Chakra as his fuel, so he descends real fast. He lands on his opponent with a loud bang, like a bomb, it's literally earth shattering, well, it does make the ground around the impact shatter…

Users: Takabashi Nakao

_Raikiri: Weaker version of the Lightning Edge_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra modification

In the original manga/anime, Raikiri and Chidori were the same, I know. But Sasuke wanted to be able to use a similar attack to Chidori and be able to use it more often on one day. So he named this the Raikiri.

Users: Sasuke

_Raiouken: Thunder Fist_

Using Chakra, Nakao attacks his opponent(s) with Electricity as a guide.

Users: Takabashi Nakao

_Rajinken: Thunder Fist_

With this Jutsu, the user adds even more power and electricity to her attacks.

Users: Takabashi Serra

_Rakurai no Jutsu: Bolt of Lightning_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra use

Using the Electricity Element, the user uses the palm of his hands to shoot off Electric bolts. This Jutsu uses up a lot of Chakra.

Drains a lot of Chakra

Users: Jiraiya, Neji, Sasuke, Sinobi

_Ranpu, San Genwaku no Jutsu: Solar Flare_

Chuunin Level Jutsu – Based on difficulty

A Distraction attack, often used to escape. The user creates an explosion of light using fire as an element, the light blinds the opponents.

Users: Kakashi, Sasuke

_Rasengan:_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Damage amount

Naruto and Jiraiya are the only Shinobis left who can use this skill. The Fourth could also.. (Maybe a Bloodline Limit kind of thing?)

The user creates Chakra in the palm of his hand, makes it spin and turn and shoots it out like a bullet, ripping the enemy apart.

Users: Jiraiya, Naruto

_Reppuuken: Violent Wind Fist_

Users: Rock Lee, Mokito

_Ronrinesu: Loneliness attack_

Jounin Level Jutsu– Based on Chakra manipulation

Mental skill, Particularly focused on the Loneliness aspect of a life of an individual.

Users: Morino Ibiki

_Ryouganku no Jutsu: Lava Attack_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on endurance

Hurts the user as well… Out of the user's mouth, lava is launched.

Users: Naruto

_Ryuuenbu__: Dragon Flame Dance   
_Using high speed and sharp Chakra around her, Yukio performs a dance of destruction, ripping opponents apart or wounding them with her Chakra alone.__

Users: Fetaru Yukio

_Ryuu Geiki: Dragon Blast_

A blast even more powerful than both the Rasengan and the Chidori

Users: Fetaru Yukio

_Ryuugakusai__: Dragon Fang   
_A finishing move for the Dragon Combo__

Users: Fetaru Yukio

_Ryuuken__ Rendan: Dragon Combo_

A fast Chakra induced combo. Only TaiJutsu. Highly lethal…

Users: Fetaru Yukio

**S**

_Sabaku Furou: Sand Wave_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Using sand on the ground and her Chakra, the user makes the sand engulf the enemy.

Users: Gaara, Temari

_Sabaku Kyuu: Desert Coffin_

Genin Level Skill

This Jutsu uses sand, whether controlled by the user or by its own will in the case of Gaara, to grab the opponent and covers their entire body. This skill is primarily for rendering an opponent immobile, but can kill the opponent by suffocation.

Users: Gaara

_Sabaku SouSou: Desert Graveyard_

Genin Level Skill

This Jutsu, sometimes a follow-up to Desert Coffin, has the incapacitated victim stifled and then crushed with the sand. The user has the sand thoroughly engulf the enemy, then commands the sand to constrict them, causing them to be killed instantly in a rain of blood. This can be performed on several enemies at once.

Users: Gaara

_Sabaku Sukasshu: Desert Choker _

Genin Level Skill

Follow-up of Sabaku Kyuu, just like Sabaku SouSou. The opponent simply isn't allowed to breathe anymore.

Users: Gaara

_Saber:_

Bloodline Limit

With this, the user enhances all his/her senses and performs far above her real capabilities…

Users: Takabashi Nakao

_Sagikonkemuri: Fake Spores_

A Genjutsu that spreads golden shining spore clouds around the area, which don't have any of the normal spore properties. Very cheap on Chakra cost, compared to the expensive Houshi techniques.

Users: Kinokomaru Kutake

_Samehada: Rough skin Sword_

Sword Skill

His sword rips, it doesn't slice. And it has the ability to eat Chakra..

Users: Kisame

_Sankontessou: Inuyasha-move_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Kiba manipulates his Chakra to form it into a yellow blade-like shape, and he shoots it towards his enemy with his claws.

Users: Kiba

_Sanjuu: Triple_

Put in front of a technique, to perform it three times.

_Sanjuu, Katon, Karyu Endan: Triple Stream of Fire_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra Amount

A Katon (flame type) Ninjutsu technique where the ninja inhales deeply, drawing in a full chest of air. They then exhale, producing a very wide stream of flames that approach their target as a huge wall

Users: Okurujin as **Onjirkuu**

_Sanmai no Jutsu: Absorption _

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra manipulation

Using your own Chakra, you make it enter the opponent's body, without the opponent knowing of it. Then you make the your own Chakra return to your body, but taking the exact same amount of Chakra you used, away from the opponent, and then planting it in your own body. After a while, the opponent's Chakra will disperse, but the opponent won't be getting it back, except if he/she rests.

Users: Jiraiya, Neji

_Saikou Zettai Bougyo: Shukaku no Tate: Supreme Absolute Defense: Shield of Shukaku_

Gaara's Ultimate Defence. Using his own armour and shield and Shukaku's rock hard defence, Gaara becomes practically untouchable.

Users: Gaara

_Seikaku: Seek_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra Manipulation

After the Bunretsu, Naruto forces all four different elementary attacks to target his opponent(s).

Users: Naruto, Neji

_Senei Yashuu: Shadow Snake Hand_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra manipulation

Using a form of summoning, snakes appear from the sleeves of the user and can grapple onto whatever they want them too, biting and constricting it.

Users: Orochimaru, Anko, Sasuke

_Senshin-Byakugan: Advanced_

Bloodline Limit

With this Advanced Byakugan, Dareda can predict the outcome of a fight between two Shinobis. For himself, he can see the shortest way to end a fight. Of course, he can also see when he's doomed to lose. But with the Senshin Byakugan, there is almost always a way to form a tactic to win.

Users: Dareda, Hiashi, Hizashi, Neji

_  
Sharingan: Copy Wheel Eye_

Bloodline Limit

With this he can copy his opponents' movements and techniques and he can hypnotize the enemy as well.

Users: Itachi, Sasuke, Kakashi

_Shihou Hapou Shuriken no Maki: Area Shuriken Shower_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra use

After using Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Naruto does Shuriken Attacks

Users: Naruto

_Shikon no Jutsu: Dead Soul Skill_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on difficulty

With this Jutsu the user can make the dead seem lifelike, allowing corpses to move around as a diversion or decoy. This skill causes the dead bodies' hearts to beat allowing the user to control them for a few minutes. In conjunction with removing body odour and surgically reconstructing the face, this skill is difficult to notice.

Users: Kabuto

_Shimera no Jutsu: Strangle attack_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Summon required

Using snakes, Anko strangles her opponents.

Users: Orochimaru, Anko, Sasuke

_Shinken: Death Shield_

Forbidden Jutsu – The user goes unconscious for two days at least, depending on how long the Death Shield is activated.

Once in this field, the victim(s) will be frozen on the spot. There, he or she will be put into a coma…

Users: Itachi, Gaara

_ Shinteki Taisaku: Mental Trap/Counter_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Once nearby where this Jutsu has been performed, the victim(s) simply see differently then what they would expect or want to expect.

Users: Itachi

_Shintenshin no Jutsu: Mind Body Switch Skill_

Genin Level Jutsu

This Jutsu allows the user to enter a targets mind, taking control of their body and senses. Normally a spying Jutsu, it can also be used in battle although with many drawbacks. The spiritual energy travels very slowly making it easy to dodge. If this happens, the users body will be left as an empty vessel for a few minutes, leaving it wide open to attack. If the Jutsu does work, any damage that is causes to the target, will also cause harm to the users body. This Jutsu only lasts about 5 minutes.

Users: Ino

_Shintenshin, Daigae: Body Mind Substitution_

Bloodline Limit

She used her advanced Shintenshin to just transfer her body to her mind and put the body she was in back to where her real body was. Doesn't take too much Chakra and only Yamanakas can use it. It is somewhat similar to Sasuke's Switch Technique, but not really, Sasuke has to see his opponent to be able to do it.

Users: Ino

_Shinranshin no Jutsu: Body-Mind Disturbance_

A technique similar to the Mind Body Switch Skill (Shintenshin no Jutsu), but it appears that the user's spiritual energy does not have to leave the body in order to control an opponent.

Users: Ino

_Shishi Rendan:_

Genin Level Jutsu

Lion Combo, copied from Lee.

Drains almost no Chakra

Users: Lee, Sasuke

_Shishienjin: Four Man Purple Flame Array _

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra manipulation

This Jutsu, which is done in co-operation with four people, creates a large cube shaped shield; a barrier which can surround a person or a battle. Any person who touches this barrier will burst into a purple flame.

Users: The Sound Four

_Shoudan__: Rising Strike_

A finishing move for one of her combo's.

Users: Takabashi Serra

_Shoushitsu: Invisibility Technique_

Chuunin Level Jutsu – If used for only one minute..

The user simply becomes invisible for a little while...

Users: Itachi, Neji

_Shoushou: Crushing Palm _

Chuunin Level Jutsu

A hard punch capable of cracking rock; a TaiJutsu particularly suited to Jiroubou as his enormous weight and strength allows him to pack a lot of power into simple martial arts.

Users: Jiroubou, Chouji

_Sokuhoushi: Sudden Death Spores_  
Golden colored spores, which gleam and glow with their Chakra. Few lungfuls of this can cause massive internal bleeding to an unprepared target. The higher Chakra amount makes the techniques executed with Sokuhoushi a lot more powerful than those with Meihoushi(n).

Users: Kinokomaru Kutake

_Souja Sousai no Jutsu: Double Snake Assassination_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra use

A murder-suicide attack. With this attack both the user and the enemy are meant to die. This is a forbidden Jutsu.

Users: Orochimaru, Anko, Sasuke

_SouShouryu_

Genin Level Jutsu

Ten-Ten summons weapons with two scrolls and controls all her weapons with strings attached to her body.

Users: Ten-Ten

_Soutourou: Double-headed Wolf_

Bloodline Limit

User transforms into a huge animal, dependant on which animal he or she is travelling with.

Users: Kiba

_Souzousaisei: Genesis Rebirth_

Jounin Level Jutsu – based on Difficulty and Chakra use

Gathering chakra to a seal on their forehead, when in need the user may use that chakra to stimulate production of various enzymes that accelerate cell duplication for rapid reformation. They can reconstruct any damaged parts and/or organs of their body; not healing them, but actually regenerating them.This jutsu makes it extremely difficult for the user to ever be killed in battle, although use of the Jutsu will shorten the user's lifespan as the number of times each cell can duplicate is limited.

Users: Tsunade

_Suicchi: Switch_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

A Jutsu that will switch the user's opponent with him or herself.

Users: Sasuke

_Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu: Water Explosion Skill:_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra manipulation

A Jutsu which creates a huge cyclone turned on its side, which is sent toward the opponent. This Jutsu can only be done when in or near a body of water, and is devastatingly powerful. It can easily rip tree roots from the Earth and suck large debris into itself. Weapons can also be hidden inside the cyclone, such as Shuriken, Kunais, etc.

Users: Kakashi, Kisame, Itachi, Orochimaru

_Suiton, Hanrai Suigai: Flash Flood_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra use

This attack is similar to the Water Shark Release, only this is a major Tidal Wave...

Users: Kisame

_Suiton, Suidan Daitoppa: Water Bullets_

Chuunin Level Jutsu – for one Water Bullet…

Naruto shoots Water bullets the size of Soccer balls at his opponents, these 'balls' hurt a lot. Naruto often uses this together with Sinobi Raidou, the lightning Shinobi who adds electricity in the Water Bullets.

Users: Naruto

_Suiton Suijinheki: Water Barrier_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra manipulation

Often used a counter attack to a Fire Type Jutsu, this technique creates a barrier of water expelled from the mouth. The wall can be manipulated by the user to block a single attack or surround the user.

Users: Kakashi, Kisame, Itachi

_Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu: Water Dragon Blast skill_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Damage amount

Powerful attack that creates a huge current of water in the shape of a dragon, which is sent towards the opponent. This Jutsu can usually only be done when in or near a body of water.

Users: Kakashi, Kisame, Itachi

_Suiton Teppoudama: Gun Bullet_

GamaBunta's Waterball attack.

Users: GamaBunta

_Sukashie no Jutsu: Transparent form_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra use

Shigeru is temporarily untouchable, as everything will go straight through him. This Jutsu uses up a lot of Chakra.

Users: Shigeru, Baeda

_Suna Bakuhatsu: Sand Explosion_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on damage amount and Chakra manipulation

A huge Sand Explosion. It depends on how huge of an amount of Chakra is used to determine how big the explosion will be.

Users: Gaara

_Suna Bunshin: Sand Clone_

Genin Level Skill

Like a Shadow Clone (Kage Bunshin), a Sand Clone can attack. In addition, a Sand Clone will not disappear when attacked, making it one of the most advanced types of Clones. Although its down-side seems to be that it has the appearance of Sand so it would be no use as a decoy.

Users: Gaara, Doro Odei, Baki, Temari, Kankurou

_Suna Gyakujou Uindo no Jutsu: Sand Distraction Blast attack _

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Two Wind Attacks and a Sand Attack. Using the Wind to move the opponent to a desired spot and placing the sand there to blind the opponent, or to entangle him/her.

Users: Temari

_Suna Kanashibari_

Genin Level Jutsu

Using sand under the opponents' feet, the user locks the opponent, making the opponent unable to move, because he/she is stuck to the sand.

Users: Kankurou, Gaara

_Suna Kyanonbo_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Picking up a huge amount of sand with Chakra, the user hardens it and makes hard balls of sand with it. Then he throws it at the enemy.

Users: Gaara, Kankurou

_Suna Kyuutai: Sphere of Sand._

Genin Level Skill

This Jutsu creates a dome of sand which completely surrounds and protects the user. With this Jutsu the sand becomes more dense and harder to penetrate. When attacked, this sphere shoots out sharp spikes in order to protect the person inside from many TaiJutsu and Ninjutsu attacks. The Third Eye Skill is often used in conjunction with this technique so as to allow the user inside the sphere to know what's going on around them.

Users: Gaara, Doro Odei

_Suna no Tate: Shield of Sand_

Automatic Skill

Regardless of his own will, this automatically surrounds and protects Gaara's body and surrounding area. A Jutsu allowed only by Gaara which takes place regardless of his own will. Capable of withstanding considerably strong attacks and projectiles, this Sand Shield is stronger than steel. Though one(and perhaps the only) way it can be defeated is with extremely high speed attacks, all other attacks are rendered useless.

Users: Gaara

_Suna no Sekisho: Barrier of Sand _

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra manipulation

An addition to Gaara's defence, this uses up a lot of Chakra but is stronger than the Shield and the Armor of Sand.

Users: Gaara

_Suna no Yoroi: Armor of Sand_

Genin Level Skill

A thin layer of protective sand that covers the user's entire body without the use of any Chakra and without need of hand seals. It does not protect as well as the Shield of Sand and because it makes the user's body heavier, it takes a lot of stamina to use.

Users: Gaara

_Suna Otori: Sand Distraction_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Gaara uses the ground and his own sand to fight his opponents. Through the ground he moves his own body via sand, to appear elsewhere, from a different angle, to attack an unknowing opponent and catch him off guard.

Users: Gaara

_Suna Shuriken: Sand Shurikens_

Chuunin Level Skill

With this technique, the user can create many Shurikens made of sand with which they attack the enemy, usually being launched from all around user.

Users: Gaara, Doro Odei

_Suna Shuriken Sukasshu: Sand Shuriken Choker_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Gaara throws Shuriken made of sand.. when they make their impact on its opponent(s), they expand and surround the user. Ultimately, the user will be trapped in the sand and will be choked. This is actually kind of like a Suna Shuriken with a Suna Sukasshu as a follow-up.

Users: Gaara

_Suna Shuurajou: Sand Carnage_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on damage amount

Gaara uses his sand to surround the opponent from above, below, left, right, behind and front. After that, he hardens the sand and makes it form into huge spikes, only to impale the opponent.

Users: Gaara

_Suna Sunaarachi: Sandstorm_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra use

Gaara creates a Sand Storm, mostly focused on his opponent, but it will strike others as well, though a lot lighter.

Drains a lot of Chakra

Users: Gaara

_Sutetasu, Doku no Jutsu: Poison Attack _

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra manipulation

The opponent will be hit by poison, and needs immediate care for it.

Users: Tsunade, Sakura, Shizune

_Sutetasu, Ishi no Jutsu: Stone Attack _

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra manipulation

Very dangerous attack, but temporarily. An opponent will be changed to stone, and will be killed when the statue is crushed. But after five minutes the opponent will change back.

Users: Tsunade, Sakura, Shizune

_Sutetasu, Sakuran no Jutsu: Confusion Attack _

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra manipulation

The eyes, ears and even nose will be greatly affected. The opponent won't be able to continue for about five minutes.

Users: Tsunade, Sakura, Shizune

**T**

_Taiyuu Bunshin no Jutsu: Advanced Clone_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra use

Not a Bunshin no Jutsu or a Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. This skill creates a clone or clones which remain standing after a clear hit and won't vanish with a touch.

Drains a lot of Chakra

Users: Naruto, Neji, Itachi, Sasuke, Jiraiya, Kisame, Sinobi, Dareda, Kakashi

_Taiyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Advanced Shadow Clone_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Chakra use

Not really advanced, just a lot more shadow clones than usual…

Users: Naruto

_Taiyuu Kikai Bunshin no Jutsu: Advanced Bug Clone Skill_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Difficulty

The user creates Clones completely consistent of bugs, and all can heal themselves with bugs.

Users: Shino, Turin

_Taiyuu Kikaichuu: Advanced Bug Technique_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Difficulty

Shino's body becomes practically untouchable, because his entire body, up to his clothes equals… Bugs.

Users: Shino

_Taiyuu Suna Kyanonbo_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Picking up a huge amount of sand with Chakra, the user hardens it and makes hard balls of sand with it. Then he throws it at the enemy.

Users: Gaara, Kankurou

_Takamaitachi: Strong Slashing Wind_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

A Jutsu that, using a giant fan, causes huge gusts of wind to attack the enemy. These powerful winds can travel very far, and cut through the surrounding area and the enemy with ease. And, because they are created without the use of Chakra, or hand seals, they can be used over and over, as long as the user has enough stamina to perform the basic swing of the huge fan.

Users: Temari, Doro Odei

_Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu: Spell of Fake Sleep_

Gaara forced himself to sleep to let Shukaku have full control.

Users: Gaara

_Taren Ken: Mach Punch _

Chuunin Level Jutsu

With this Jutsu the user throws dozens of punches at extremely high speed. It seems the secret to this Jutsu is Sakon's ability to replicate body parts in an instant.

In the Takabashis case, it's simply because they're fast enough to perform it.

Users: Sakon, Takabashi Serra, Takabashi Nakao

_Teishoukantakai Fuin: Conflicting Redemption Seal_

The technique meant to be performed on the Fourth's Seal. It lets the carrier of the seal fight the demon within him or herself. The winner gains the other's Chakra forever and the loser is either sealed within or dies…

_Teishuuha: Low Frequency Waves_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on Difficulty

Using a sound that can not even be heard by the keenest ears, the user will attack the opponent's hearing system, making him/her collapse if possible.

Users: Teri Kinuta

_Tenketsu-Kaiten_

Jounin Level Skill / Based on difficulty

While Performing the Heavenly Spin, the user grips the opponent with Chakra and makes him/her spin along. During the spinning, the user hits the Opening Points.

Users: Neji, Dareda

_Tokuya: Poison Darts_  
Small spore concentrations shot at the enemy with great velocity, the kunai equivalent of a Houshi Ninja.

Users: Kinokomaru Kutake

_Toraryuu Rendan – Tiger Combo_

A fast Chakra induced combo. Only TaiJutsu

With Chakra as a lethal weapon around the hands and feet… the Chakra slices

Users: Takabashi Serra

_Touton no Jutsu: Peeking Skill_

Student Level Skill

Jiraiya's first original move, one he taught even to the Third Hokage, his teacher. After peeking, he makes a transparent escape.

Users: Jiraiya

_Tsubame Rendan – Flying Swallow Combo_

A fast Chakra induced combo. Only TaiJutsu

Users: Takabashi Serra, Takabashi Nakao

_Tsuku Doku: Poisonous Vomit_

Chuunin Level Jutsu

Basically, Turin vomits while hovering above her opponents.

Users: Shino, Turin

_Tsutek Hibaku: Embracing Waterfall_

Jounin Level Skill – Based on Chakra use

The user creates a gigantic waterfall around the user which will make a heavy impact.

Users: Jiraiya, Naruto

_Tsukiyomi: Moonlight Hell_

Bloodline Limit

A Genjutsu where, through the power of the Mange Sharingan, the user fools his enemy's mind into believing they are in a world that is totally controlled by the Moonlight Hell user. All space, time, and matter is under the users control in this illusionary world, submitting the enemy to days worth of torture, while only seconds pass in reality. Unless the enemy is extremely strong willed, the user can easily kill them with Moonlight Hell. This jutsu is undefeatable by anyone other than a full blooded Uchiha Clan member with Mange Sharingan. This Jutsu uses a lot of Chakra and should only be used a couple of times a day, even by the most powerful of Uchiha members.

Users: Itachi, Sasuke

**U**

_Uindo, Gufuu no Jutsu: Tornado attack _

Chuunin Level Jutsu – Based on Damage amount

Original Jutsu from the Wind Country, also owned by Temari. This Jutsu creates a huge tornado which attacks the opponent.

Users: Naruto, Temari, Doro Odei,

_Ura Renge: Extreme Lotus_

Jounin Level Jutsu – Based on the opening of several Gates

This technique puts a lot of strain on your muscle fibres. It is basically a suicidal attack. Normally, humans use the power of their muscles at only about 20 percent of it's full power. If you use 100 percent, the muscles themselves will be destroyed. Normally your brain is holding down this power. This Jutsu, like with Initial Lotus, releases the brain's limiters but goes beyond Initial Lotus in power, speed, and self damage. You release the brain's restrains by opening the Initial Gate, then opening the Heal Gate you forcibly raise your stamina. Then from opening the third, the Life Gate, you enter into the Extreme Lotus. Continuous high speed TaiJutsu that can't even be touched. The user wraps his target in bandages so they can't protect themselves, then attacks at the same time with a powerful punch and kick.

Users: Lee, Gai, Mokito

**Y**

_Yuri no Jutsu: Lesbian Action_

Student Level Skill

Two beautiful females will be… kissing and touching… and more.. Of course one is a clone and the other is the real Jiraiya.

Users: Jiraiya

**Z**

_Zaneiken: Cutting Shadow Fist_

Descending, Nakao lands a powerful fist, which, when missed, will cause Chakra-induced Shadows to spread towards the opponents to kill…

Users: Takabashi Nakao

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A/N: Heh, so here's the Jutsu list so far…. I'll be updating this one each time I update my story with a chapter. So if you don't understand a Jutsu, just look this chapter up. If you have any questions, Fire away!


	20. Trembling Sensations

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!! Kishimoto does!! I don't!! Kishimoto does!!

Author's Note: Well, a lot of things'll happen in this chapter. Not too many deaths, though. It's hard to let the liked-characters of Naruto just die like that… So, I made a decision… Oh well, I hope you enjoy!

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Review Reply Corner:

**Pyr00tje**: Heh, here's another fast update! I think… And yep, Shigeru died. The Ryuu Bunshin, that's what he turned into, burns up all your Chakra and ultimately, all that is you. Thanks for the review!

**Perverted**-**senin**: Yeah, Orochimaru needs to prepare dead bodies before he can use Kuchiyose Edo-Tensei… I think, heh…. Oh well, thanks for reading my story!

**RuByMoOn17**: I'm glad you like the battles!! Thanks for reviewing!

**FlareOfDragon**: Heh, yeah, battles like that are great to read about, but difficult to write about. Thanks for the review!!

**Alden-san**: Ah, I was actually looking for a technique for Iruka… Do you mind if I use the one you used in this review? If you do, I'll change it. I uploaded the Jutsu List as well. Though it might be a bit confusing… ah, thanks for reviewing!!

**Shishi** **haze**: Well, you just have to see what book 3 and 4 will be like, then, hehe… I'm glad you liked the chapter, I hope you like this one as well!

**Lady** **Light**: Yep, yep, Kunoichis also need respect, right? Especially those with a lot of potential… Thanks for the review!

**SilverKnight7**: Heh, here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy!!

**Moonlight's** **Shadow**: Hehe, that's where Cliffhangers are for, SNICKER…. Thanks for reviewing!

**Sirus183**: Thanks!! I appreciate it! Here's the next chapter!

**Gopu**: Look forward no more! Here's the next chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

**Lostlily**: Writing battle scenes is really hard… Usually I switch scenes too fast and my description writing really sucks and that's where you're good at. Thanks for reviewing!

**Sally**: Wait no more, in this chapter the demon fights begin! I hope I made it believable… Thanks for reviewing!

**:D**: Hehe, I like the word Teishoukantakai, it's nice to say… I made the word from combining Redemption and Conflict in Japanese. Thanks for the review!

**Irony**: You only took one day for book one!? Man, you read fast, then… Since book 1 is over hundred thousand words… this one's over 100000 as well now… Ja, thanks for reviewing!!

**Misu** **no** **Yami**: We all bounce occasionally… I'm glad you liked the chappy! I hope you like this one as well!

**Stoictimer**: Hehe, I think you'll like this chapter, but I don't know for sure… Thanks for reviewing!

**Maya** **Amano**: Hehe, yeah I know. I apologize for making you dizzy… -apologizes- Thanks for reviewing!

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"Ugh..."

Sarutobi Shigeru was gone. No more. She didn't really know the guy, but the way he was killed was… rather harsh. And damn, did that thing he turned into pack a blow. She found herself quite weakened by the powerful tackle she had received and checked to see if she still had all her weapons on her. She looked sideways to see Sakura with a pained expression on her face, probably going through the same pains she had. She looked towards the one enemy that was left and the most powerful Jounins of Konoha in front of her. She carefully crawled towards Sakura and shook her a little bit, careful not to add to the pain.

"Sakura… Sakura… She thinks we're down, she isn't paying attention to us at all. Now is the time to attack her."  Ino whispered. "Come on, get up."

Sakura groaned softly and went from a lying position to a seated one. "Ughh… She hit me good, Ino. I still can summon Katsuyu, but I'll be out of Chakra then. I better not attack her now if I still want to use Katsuyu."

Ino nodded. "I see." She sighed. "Perhaps I can take her body over…"

**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 19

The only ones who really managed to hit the half human, half dragon they were fighting were Gai, Lee and Mokito. Kakashi's water attacks had no effect, it seemed and Asuma didn't have many distance attacks. Kakashi let Gai and Lee take over and watched Iruka perform another Earth Jutsu on Yukio, only to see it blasted away by one boost of Chakra. Iruka was saved from an attack as Sasuke appeared behind Yukio and actually managed to get a hit in. Sasuke was going for the hit, move away-strategy. Even Dareda and Sinobi were having trouble fighting Yukio's troublesome Summon. Chouji seemed too hesitant to join, as if he was trying to make a decision.

Now to see who was already out. Kurenai had been outdone by Chakra as one of her Genjutsus actually got to Yukio, making Yukio a little bit angrier, resulting in a knock out Kurenai, who had been saved from being killed by an intervening Shikamaru. Shikamaru had used his Shadow Bind on Yukio only to see Yukio easily step out of it using an incredible amount of Chakra. Even though Shikamaru got knocked out, his main goal had been reached, taking a lot of Chakra from Yukio… Shino was out of Chakra from having fought Takabashi Serra from before and fighting the Ryuu Bunshin Shigeru had turned into.

Kisame seemed to be testing Yukio and mostly observing as he occasionally attacked and jumped away again. Jiraiya was doing quite the same. All of a sudden, Chouji walked over at the unconscious Shikamaru and nodded his head. He instantly took in three of the Akimichi pills.

'Time to finish all of this…'

Yukio turned her head at the sudden and humongous Chakra coming from Chouji. 'Hmm… He seems to have become a lot stronger…'

Yukio didn't have time to turn around as Chouji appeared behind her and rammed her hard in the back of the head. Yukio fell forward. 'Faster too! And his blows are harder than mine!'

Yukio jumped away just in time, avoiding another vicious attack from Chouji as he was about to land on her. Kakashi, Gai, Lee, Mokito, Dareda and Sinobi were still fighting Yukio's summon. Iruka, Sasuke, Kisame and Jiraiya were watching Chouji in awe.

Suddenly, Yukio screamed, gathering as much Chakra as she could. Chouji, even in this state, swallowed nervously as Yukio's skin turned slightly blue and her pupils became yellow. "**Ok… Let's see you do that again now…**"

Chouji rushed forward and found his fist easily blocked by Yukio's palm. "You have become a lot stronger all of a sudden. But I too can do that." Chouji tried to break free from Yukio's grip but found hot Chakra forming in Yukio's palm…

"**Let's see how you'll fight missing an arm… Ryuu Geiki!!**"

Chouji used his own Chakra to try and make the damage the Dragon Blast would make smaller. With this, only his hand was burned completely, instead of his entire arm.

Yukio frowned at the burned hand. "**Impressive enough, but unfortunately not good enough, is it?**" Chouji watched as Yukio formed another Dragon Blast in her hand and put it in front of Chouji's face. "**What'll happen to your face if I do this?**"

Yukio couldn't finish as Jiraiya threw a Rasengan straight at her back.

Yukio hissed dangerously and threw the Dragon Blast at Jiraiya instead of Chouji. Jiraiya jumped away and watched as the Dragon Blast continued on its way towards the ones who were fighting against Yukio's summon. Jiraiya's eyes widened as Asuma was fully hit on his back by the Dragon Blast…

Because of that short moment of shock, Jiraiya hadn't noticed Yukio appearing beside him and kicked him hard on his left leg, breaking it as well. Jiraiya screamed in pain and stumbled to the ground, but watched as Yukio suddenly wore a confused expression on her face, before he blacked out.

From afar, on a roof, Itachi was watching at all, very careful not to reveal his presence as he was also watching his little brother.

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Naruto understood it all. For total defeat, the seal had to be off the cage. Only he or the demon could pull it off, when outside the cage. When the demon is really killed, Naruto would gain all of the Kyuubi's power and Kyuubi would be forever gone. This was the Fourth Hokage's reason for putting it into Naruto. In here, inside a human, the Kyuubi was not immortal at all. But if Naruto was killed, Naruto would be forever gone and the Kyuubi would be free again. They were playing a very dangerous game now…

He was looking at the Cage and looking at the giant Kyuubi before him.

"**What's wrong, whelp? Here to ask for help again? Or have you finally given up on a human's life and decided for me to be free at last?**" The Kyuubi growled rather than spoke.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the Nine-tailed demon. "A dual… The final dual, Kyuubi…"

The Kyuubi's red eyes widened. "**You dare challenge me again, whelp? Have you forgotten the last time?**"

Naruto shook his head. "No, I have not. But this time is different. This time I am closer to victory."

The Kyuubi considered this. "**Hmm, I do feel power radiating from you. You've become a strong human indeed. But to think you can defeat me, the strongest of all demons… is a perfect example of human stupidity. Demons will never be defeated by such low existence as yourself. Do realize, that once you challenge me for real and the seal has to be broken, you have to take it off…**"

Naruto nodded. "I understand all of that. I'm just… mentally preparing myself for the upcoming battle."

The Kyuubi chuckled. "**Why prepare for a battle that will be over in mere seconds?**"

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Gaara understood all of it as good as Naruto. The only difference between them was that Gaara knew how Shukaku fought. The problem was there was not much space to fight, especially a demon with this size. Gaara controlled all sand, but so did Shukaku. This would be the toughest battle ever.

"**Ah, come to visit me again, Gaara?**"

"I came only to kill you." Gaara replied.

Shukaku chuckled madly. "**Kill me?? You?! Kill me?! You're too weak! On top of that, I know all of your techniques and you know my Defence is much better than your defence. There is no way you can end my existence!**"

"I have been training for this moment. I will not fail."

"**Ignorant fool. You're facing a demon now, not a Shinobi. My powers are beyond your imagination. When our fight starts, I'll win and be free again!**"

Gaara narrowed his eyes and understood the risk they were taking. Even so, if Naruto and he were to lose against their demons, Kyuubi and Shukaku would surely first deal with the Akatsuki Leader and after that, possibly try to kill each other. An open chance for someone to try and seal the demons again. But… Gaara didn't want to die…

"Do not be mistaken, Shukaku. I will be killing you here. I've wanted to do this my entire life. I will not throw this chance away…"

The Shukaku's reply was a long and harsh chuckle.

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Yukio didn't understand. Something was invading her body, her mind even. She could still release Chakra it seemed, but somebody else was in control. And then, a voice inside her spoke.

"**Foolish** **this is… There are two minds in here already, three is too much. This Jutsu won't work on us!**"

Yukio recognised the voice as the demon inside her and felt his Chakra around her as he forced something out.

Several feet away, Ino was beyond shocked. Never before had her Jutsu been cancelled out by Chakra alone, this woman was too much... Her eyes widened even more as Yukio turned to look at her.

As she slowly began to walk towards her, Chouji interrupted but failed to land a blow as Yukio grasped his hand, which wasn't burned, and easily broke it. "**Hm, Ryuuenbu!!**"

Chouji screamed in pain as Yukio began to dance around him while her Chakra was slicing at him. Chouji just then noticed Yukio's hands had changed into claws as Yukio clawed at Chouji's body as well. Sakura and Ino watched as blood poured everywhere.

Just then, Iruka had a few hand seals finished, trying to save Chouji. "Suiton, Kouzuino Mokushi!!"

Chouji, Yukio, Ino and Sakura were all surrounded by a huge water-barrier, which was directed by Iruka's Chakra. 'I have to try not to let the others get hit…'

And then, powerful water blasts were released from the barrier and were heading towards Yukio. Seeing the Water Barrier around her, she realised she had nowhere to escape and was hit by all the strong blasts. Chouji was saved, but fell unconscious.

As the Water Barrier went down, Iruka panted. 'That took all of my Chakra… At least I could save Chouji…'

'Good, now she's distracted…' Kisame thought. "Itsuha Chakra no Katana!!"

Kisame's Samehada had stored a lot of Naruto's and Gaara's Chakra, thus Kyuubi and Shukaku Chakra. Right now, that portion was totally Kisame's and it made him awfully powerful.

Yukio looked rather annoyed. "**All of you gain a sudden increase in power!! How is it possible that you have that much Chakra?!**" Yukio shook her head in sheer annoyance and rushed at Kisame, who was running at her as well.

The collision of the two caused the ground to rumble. After the collision, both were still standing and staring at each other. "**Hmm, you seem to be borrowing someone else's Chakra… Your body isn't used to it at all… Let me show you how to control such a massive amount of Chakra…**"

Kisame was almost blown away as Yukio gathered all of her Chakra around her body. The next thing Kisame saw, was that Yukio was no longer standing in front of him. 'Shit, where did she go?!'

Kisame found his Samehada yanked from his back and used against him as Yukio embedded it hard in Kisame's back. "**Oooohh****, interesting… This sword is a strange one, expanding like that… Must hurt a lot…**" She said with a smile as the Samehada expanded inside Kisame's back. Kisame screamed in pain as Yukio turned the sword a bit, making a lot of blood spill out.

She then ruthlessly pulled the sword out and was planning to slice Kisame's head off, until the sudden appearance of Sasuke interrupted her. He held a Chidori in his hands and planted his hand on Yukio's stomach. Sasuke grinned. "Chidori!!"

Yukio screamed in pain as the Chidori ripped through her Chakra defences and actually hurt her. Sasuke grinned in satisfaction as Yukio was blown backwards. He watched Kisame fall to the ground… 'This guy was with my brother all those years ago, perhaps he can tell me where he is after all of this…'

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and saw purple Chakra heal the small wound the Chidori managed to make on Yukio's stomach. "**Hehe… Odd that you managed to hurt me like that… That must be a powerful attack… You'll be the next die.**"

Sasuke went to Curse Seal level two immediately and activated his Sharingan.

Yukio narrowed her yellow eyes. "**Sharingan? You're an Uchiha then. Interesting… Said to be the strongest clan of all Shinobis… Show me what you've got…**"

Sasuke rushed forward and fist met fist in the collision. Sasuke jumped backwards while performing hand seals and grasped a sword which was wrapped on his back. "Kusanagi Uraike!!" Sasuke landed with two Kusanagis in both his hands. Sasuke smirked. "Be sliced by one of these once and you're history, woman…"

Yukio grinned. "The sword of Kusanagi, huh? Interesting to see you just possess it like that."

A few feet away, Tsunade was trying to recover herself as fast as she could. Her Genesis Rebirth Technique had drained all of her Chakra and all she could do now was watch.

Ino and Sakura were also still conscious. "Perhaps I should summon now, Ino." Sakura suggested.

Ino shook her head. "No, no… Sasuke-kun has two swords in his hands… Those swords look very powerful too…"

'It's a good thing Kimimaro taught me the dances I was able to learn…' Sasuke crouched. "Dance of the Camellia!!"

Yukio grinned as She easily dodged all strikes of the two Kusanagis, but wasn't able to attack back during the stabbing. As Sasuke stopped stabbing and jumped backwards he continued with "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!"

Yukio observed the eleven Sasukes, all with Kusanagis as they were all also performing the Dance of the Camellia and coming at her. 'I won't be able to dodge the attack like this…' She thought and disappeared all of a sudden, leaving the real Sasuke searching for her.

A swift movement of purple Chakra moved fast through three Shadow Clones, making the Sasuke turn their heads towards it. 'Her speed… It's so high…'

Before he could react, the real Sasuke was hit straight across his side. He fell to the ground. His shirt was ripped where it was hit and a huge wound was spread across his skin, bleeding as well.

Sasuke snarled and made his remaining seven Shadow Clones spread. He scanned the entire area. 'Damn, she almost has defeated all of us already in such a short time… The only ones left are… is me…' Sasuke thought.

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Kakashi was blasted backwards by a huge Electricity blast. Asuma had been taken down by one of Yukio's Dragon Blasts, but the others were still going against Yukio's summon. 'This thing absorbs all I throw at him. Even my Chidori seems ineffective… Seems it's able to absorb all elementary attacks, like water, fire, electricity and ice… '

Kakashi noticed only Gai, Lee, Mokito, Dareda and Sinobi were left. He didn't really know Mokito and Sinobi, but knew Dareda by name. It also seems Mokito fights in a similar way to Gai and Lee.

Kakashi's Sharingan noticed an increase in Gai's and Lee's Chakra system. 'So, they're going to open the Gates now?' He thought as he saw Sinobi being hit by a Water Attack.

Dareda performed Kaiten after Kaiten. 'This is hopeless… My Senshin-Byakugan indicates no weaknesses anywhere on it.' And then he watched as Gai and Lee 'exploded' with Chakra. 'Hmm, so they are able to open the Gates… Mokito should do it as well, perhaps we can defeat this thing then…'

As if on cue, Mokito also opened her Gates, surprising Gai and Lee.

Yukio's summon couldn't keep up with Lee's, Gai's and Mokito's high speed and was forced to focus on its defence as hit after hit landed.

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The seal was off and Naruto stood in front of the Kyuubi, who slowly, but surely was approaching him.

"**Prepare to die… human…**"

Naruto gathered all of his Chakra. "I created a technique to deal with you immediately!" Naruto gathered all of his Chakra. 'This better work!!'

The Kyuubi also gathered Chakra and was whipping his tails around. "**Whelp, there is nothing you can do that can really harm me… Seeing as elements won't work on me I see now way you can perform anything powerful enough… Your fate is to die by my claws, the claws of the strongest demon…**"

"Rasengan Funka!!"

From all opening points on Naruto's body, Rasengans, small and big, were formed and shot towards Kyuubi. Naruto had learned from Neji and Dareda where all his Opening Points were…

The Kyuubi howled as Rasengan after Rasengan spiralled into his body. Naruto was forced to stop as one of the Kyuubi's tails hit Naruto hard in the side. Naruto was hit against the walls.

The Kyuubi panted, after receiving such a vicious attack. "**Powerful indeed, whelp…**" Kyuubi panted some more. "**But you forget, that I can heal myself…**"

Naruto panted as well. 'Damn, that tail is really powerful…' Naruto's eyes widened as all nine tails were coming at him from all sides. Naruto quickly moved underground and appeared from under the ground behind Kyuubi, but the Kyuubi had easily sensed it and his left foot clawed his way around Naruto's torso. Naruto fell as blood spilled from his clothes on the ground.

Kyuubi chuckled as Naruto disappeared in a poof of smoke and found the real Naruto clinging on one of his tails. "**Heh, I could have figured as much…**"

Naruto panicked as the other eight tails were staring to wrap around Naruto, squeezing him to death. But this Naruto also changed to smoke. The Kyuubi used his nose and smelled like thousands of Naruto's under the ground. "**Devious little whelp…**"

All of them came crushing through the ground and jumped onto the Kyuubi, slicing with Kunai and Shuriken. The Kyuubi merely released a surge of Chakra, which made all of the Shadow Clones disappear.

One Naruto stood in front of the Kyuubi. "**Now what, whelp?**"

"Rasengan Funka!!"

Kyuubi gritted his teeth as Rasengan after Rasengan imbedded themselves into the Kyuubi's skin again. '**Ah, that damn brat has become powerful… His fighting style is very hard to deal with and this technique can really kill me… I'll be out of Chakra if I continue to heal myself after this attack…**'

Kyuubi released a lot of Chakra to send Naruto flying backwards and stop the attack. He immediately healed himself and his eyes started glowing. "**Whelp… Time to end this…**"

And then, the Kyuubi crashed through the ground as all of those shadow clowns had dug a huge hole under the ground. As the Kyuubi fell in, Naruto released another wave of "Rasengan Funka!!"

Naruto was panting during the attack. 'Man… I hope this is enough, I can't release another Rasengan Funka after this one, unless I want to use up all of my Chakra…'

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Inside Gaara, a similar battle was going on.

Sand Waves were flying around, trying to overpower the other. Gaara and Shukaku both screamed for control.

"**Fuuton, Renkuudan!!**" Shukaku screamed sending a powerful blast of wind and Chakra towards Gaara.

Gaara jumped upwards and did the same. "Fuuton, Renkuudan!!"

Shukaku was able to let the blast soar past him against the walls. Shukaku continued with embracing Gaara with sand, only to see his sand be transformed by a huge hand, large enough to grab his head. Shukaku easily destroyed the hand with one blow of his fists.

As the sand flew around in large parts, one of the larger parts changed into Gaara and showed he had finished a hand seal. "Taiyuu Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

Shukaku growled as before him, a huge sand worm was… squirming and a huge black salamander with yellow stripes on its body.

"**Hmm, **y**ou're able to summon more than one Boss… Interesting…**"

Gaara smirked. "Your defence will break…"

The Sand Worm moved underground while the Salamander jumped on the wall and clung to it. The Salamander began to spit out poisonous chemicals at Shukaku, but all was stopped by his ultimate defence.

And then, Shukaku saw that the spit was melting his defences… Just then, the Sand Worm slammed from under Shukaku, who also noticed Gaara yelling "Fuuton, Renkuudan!!"

Shukaku, for the first time, saw his defence slowly crumbling… '**Not good…**'

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Sinobi was out for the count, but Lee, Gai and Mokito had beaten Yukio's summon and were now panting as they watched Sasuke fight Yukio... He wasn't faring too well. His Shadow Clones were all beaten and he himself had already changed to Curse Seal Level one. Yukio had snatched one of the Kusanagis Sasuke was carrying and Yukio was just toying with Sasuke, playing with the Kusanagi, easily parrying Sasuke's attacks.

Kakashi then noticed Yukio was going in for the kill. Before she could do so, he watched as Lee intervened, kicking her in the face, but seeing it had little effect, Lee began a small combo, only to be washed away by an awesome wave of Chakra.

Yukio did notice the Kusanagi was no longer in her hand. She looked to her left to see a girl, Mokito, hold it like a little toy. "Looking for this?"

Yukio frowned, but was forced to dodge Gai's tackle and jumped.

Mokito threw the sword away and braced herself.

Sasuke ran out of Chakra and fell on his knees, heavily panting.

Yukio narrowed her eyes at the display of Chakra coming from Mokito, Gai and Lee. "**Don't think you can defeat me with that!**"

Gai rushed forward and noticed that Yukio was just as fast as he was… Perhaps even faster… Gai's right leg got grabbed and he found himself the victim for Lee's Violent Wind Fist. Mokito landed a blow on Yukio's face only to find that her power, simply wasn't enough. Yukio grinned and grabbed Mokito's arm and was about to hit her with a Dragon Blast, but couldn't because Dareda and Kakashi approached and both released lightning attacks.

Yukio easily dodged and was about to retaliate until Lee showed up again and kicked her in the back. Yukio gritted her teeth in fury and turned on Lee, pursuing him. Lee found himself unable to escape with his speed and could do nothing as Yukio appeared in front of him and kicked him hard through his ribs. Lee screamed in pain as he fell on his back.

"**Another Hyuga I see.**" Yukio muttered as she turned away from Lee and was gazing at Dareda. She formed a Spiky-looking Chakra ball in her hand. "Ryuu Geiki!!" As Yukio threw her Dragon Blast at Dareda, she felt sudden huge Lightning bolts strike her from above. She was bored hard in the ground.

Dareda had dodged Yukio's Dragon Blast and had turned to see Sinobi completely berserk and rushing towards Yukio. Before Sinobi could notice, Yukio was already behind him and put her hand on Sinobi's neck. "**You seem to have a lot of Chakra… Denkou Juin!!**"

Sinobi screamed out in pain and fell to the ground...

Dareda, enraged, now ran far Yukio. He could see all around him, so he could dodge most of Yukio's attacks. Although her expanding Chakra was a bit of a problem as it sliced a few times at him. After seeing his chance, Dareda yelled "Fuchi Chuubu!!"

Yukio found herself unable to move and was hit hard in the face by Gai. '**I'm already half transformed, but still they are able to hit me… how can these Shinobi be this strong?**'

As Yukio landed on her feet, she watched Lee stand up again. '**What! I'm sure I broke all of his ribs…**'

Before Lee could fully rise, Yukio was in front of him again, ramming her fists and knees hard against Lee's ribcage… Lee screamed in pain as Yukio stopped and performed a last kick, breaking Lee's jaw. Lee fell backwards, this time, really unconscious, instead of being able to let the Heal Gate heal him.

Gai was about to avenge Lee, but got hit hard in the side by the sudden appearance of a purple-coloured snake with a dragon head.

Dareda had a sad look on his face as he saw what happened. That purple dragon/snake was once his friend, Sinobi Raidou. That seal Yukio put on him changed him in this… Gai was too fast for the dragon consistent of only purple Chakra. Dareda used his Heavenly Spin to counter the physical attack the Ryuu Bunshin, the snake/dragon gave him.

The Ryuu Bunshin continued on his way towards Kakashi, who had a Chidori ready and threw it towards the Ryuu Bunshin.

Yukio narrowed her eyes. "That Jutsu again…" She mumbled as the Ryuu Bunshin was beaten. Yukio rushed over at Kakashi, who dodged her first attack, but was sent skywards as Yukio performed an uppercut and followed him in the air.

"Hienryuujinkyaku!!"

The kick, which was made more powerful by a lot of purple Chakra, sent Kakashi downwards, crashing hard in the ground.

Yukio landed on the ground and saw there were three left. Gai, Dareda and Mokito. Sasuke had fallen unconscious already.

Gai was panting heavily. 'Unlike Lee, I can't use the Heal gate that well… I hope help arrives soon… The entire Village is busy… I hope the others are all alright.'

The Genins were busy on the outskirts, fighting off the Akatsuki Followers in teams. The ANBU were doing quite the same, picking the more powerful ones and dealing with them. Chuunins were helping the Genins out and medic-nins were running around, also under attack, Shizune was with the Genins.

Dareda had his eyes narrowed. 'I wish I could say I would win the battle…'

Meanwhile, a little farther back, Ino had managed to take the Kusanagi sword Mokito had thrown away. "Sakura, maybe it is time to summon…"

Sakura looked over at Tsunade, who seemed to be meditating with a hand seal in front of her face…

And then, Yukio rushed forward, knocking Gai hard in the back, as she appeared behind him. Gai tried to scream in pain, but Yukio had appeared in front of him and had punched him in the gut almost at the same time. Gai fell on his knees and spit out blood…

Mokito appeared behind Yukio and kicked her hard on the side of her head. Yukio faltered a little bit, but turned around and glared at Mokito, before performing a somersault, while having sharp Chakra at her feet, slicing Mokito across her torso. Mokito gritted her teeth to ignore the pain and narrowed her eyes. She saw Yukio have another ball of Chakra in her hands while carrying a big grin. The Dragon Blast never came as Dareda hit her hard Gentle Fist-Style.

Dareda jumped backwards after seeing it had little effect. Right then, Yukio rushed towards Dareda with all her Chakra around her. 'Shit…!!'

The Collision between them was devastating as the Hokage Tower, now a little in the distance, crumbled a little bit. Dareda had performed the Heavenly Spin, but knew he was down for the count and could no longer fight on. Yukio was also on the ground, but she rose easily again and faced a panting Gai and a panting Mokito.

"**It is over… You two are the last ones…**" Yukio stated.

Yukio smiled as she began to pummel Gai and Mokito around. They were too tired to be able to dodge her attacks.

And then, Yukio jumped backwards as a sudden normal looking sword almost hit her in the face.

Yukio looked up to see a blonde woman walking towards herself. Yamanaka Ino, now with two Kusanagis was preparing "Dance of the Camellia!!"

Yukio shook her head as she recognised the attack and easily dodged the many stabs coming at her. She kicked Ino hard on her right ankle and performed a roundhouse kick to send Ino flying.

Yukio grinned as she saw Gai and Mokito were already close to unconscious, already lying on the ground.

And then, she sensed another one behind her…

"Uchiha Itachi…" Yukio greeted. "I'm surprised to see you here…"

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

Itachi and Yukio both looked up to see Katsuyu, a huge slug, with a pink haired girl on the head.

Tsunade smiled as she observed…

But what came next was far more devastating to all of them. From the west, two huge Chakra levels came soaring through the entire area. Itachi closed his eyes and smiled, but he did not know the outcome of the battles of Naruto and Gaara. Tsunade's eyes widened, recognising the terrorising Chakra of the Kyuubi, knowing the other was Shukaku's…

Yukio was shivering a little bit, sensing the great Chakra. '**What… That's too high… What the hell is that?!**'

"**Sakura!!**** You've summoned me in one great battle!!**" Katsuyu looked down to see Tsunade in her old form. "**Tsunade is out already… and if I'm not mistaken… that's the Kyuubi's Chakra I sense… and that woman's Chakra down there is huge as well…**"

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TBC

A/N: Yep, yep!! I know the Demon fights were rather short, but if you compare it to the fights of the Konoha Jounins versus Yukio, you can understand it… right? Uh, right? Anyways, there will be flashbacks about it in the next chapter. It's still not sure who won the battle… Naruto or Kyuubi? Gaara or Shukaku? Hehehe, surprise, surprise… Cliff-hangers, you gotta like them… Oh well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!! Please R&R!!


	21. Unexpected Turn of Events

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Author's Note: Ok, a lot will be happening in this chapter and I hope you'll be able to understand it all. If you don't understand, please state so or ask me about it!

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Review Reply Corner:

**CurlsofSerenity**: Actually they didn't mean Katsuyu when they were talking about powerful Chakra. They were sensing Naruto and Gaara from afar… And I think Katsuyu is female… isn't she? -Shrugs- Ja, thanks for reviewing!

**Misu** **no** **Yami**: Heh, that's good, thanks!! Here's the next chapter!!

**Hattuteline**: Hiya, Hattuteline! Yep, I've got a few days off, so I just decided to type away with no end in sight. There will be a few surprises in this one, heh. Yeah, perhaps I should change the rating… But I don't think many people really look at the rating these days… Thanks for the review!

**Alden-san**: Yeah, well I kinda had the same feeling about the earlier chaps of this fic, cause there were simply too many OCs at one time. Oh well. Yep, I didn't state anywhere in the previous chapter that Sakura and Ino got knocked out, just that they got knocked away. Everyone just forgot about them as there were still far more opponents left. And nope, Hanabi isn't dead. Of course not, I kinda like Hanabi too. During the Main House Massacre she was present at the Chuunin Exam Finals and all that. She's also a Genin now and Lee is her Jounin Instructor. BTW, for a good pairings story, have you read Emilio's **A Flowing Stone**? But then again, it doesn't have Ino in it… Anyways, Thanks for reviewing!

**DocDragon**: Ack, I apologize! Heh, I kinda mistyped about that Snow Village. Haku and Yukio were both born in the WATER Village, my bad, my bad! But I do think you can imagine how Hiraga was killed, seeing he got trapped in Shikamaru's Shadow Bind… He did almost manage to take out both Asuma and Kurenai… But thanks for the review!

**Pyr00tje**: Hehehe, you'll kill me? You'll to come all the way from Belgium, which managed to beat the Netherlands by the way, not that I really care… Well, I can't deny I dislike making cliffhangers… By the way, this Book will have about three more chapters, I think… Maybe four…

**Sirus183**: Heh, so you're a Kyuubi Fan, ey? Same here… However, I don't know if I can let the Kyuubi live for the good of this fic –bows apologetically- Thanks for reviewing!

**Maya** **Amano**: Yep, Yukio is strong indeed, and even stronger in this chapter! Naruto and Gaara action in this one, by the way… I hope you enjoy the chapter, thanks for reviewing!

**Sally**: Heh, I like making cliffhangers, but I also dislike encountering one. Thanks for reviewing, hope you enjoy the chapter!

**RuByMoOn17**: Whoa, thanks!! I'm glad you liked it! Here's an update, thanks for reviewing!

**Gopu**: Thanks, I'm glad you think that, thanks for reviewing!

**Dark** **Phoenix**: Heh, thanks!! I've also read a lot of UBER-Naruto fics and some are pretty good. Bubblytokki's **Covenant** for example. Thanks for reviewing!

**Hide-a**: Heh, thanks! I'm glad you like the battles and Jutsus, thanks for reviewing!!

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The emotion he went through right now was unlike any ever before. He had gone through pleasure whenever he killed his opponents. He went through concern every time his… friends… had a difficult battle ahead. He always had his pride and annoyance was also often present. Even relief was familiar to him. But this emotion he had now went beyond relief. Finally he had gotten what he had always wanted.

He grinned as he tightened his own fists and looked at them. He breathed in, letting his chest rise and closed his eyes, enjoying the moment. He already noticed the difference. No longer were there the whispers in the back of his head. No longer could he feel the difference of Chakra types within himself. His own Chakra and **_his _**one, had become one and it was all for him to control

Gaara grinned as he felt the power he now possessed. He was more powerful than Shukaku, now even more since Shukaku's Chakra was his now, on top of his own.

Gaara's grin vanished as he looked sideways at the shaking Naruto…

**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 20

Itachi was calmly gazing at Yukio, waiting for her to make the first move. He had noticed there were three others left, but they would be of no use to him at all. One was a blonde haired girl who wasn't used to the heavy swords she was carrying. Itachi recognised them as Kusanagi swords. 'Odd… I thought there was only. Orochimaru must be here as well, then…' Ino was too tired to be able to continue and was already sitting on the ground.

The Hokage, Tsunade, was a basic liability. With her true, old appearance showing, she's a lot weaker and slower. The other girl, a pink-haired one, was on top of Katsuyu, the Slug. Itachi frowned as he noticed Sakura was panting on top of Katsuyu. 'Stupid… She has no Chakra left… This summon was her last resort. Even then, this situation is hopeless. Katsuyu is a weak summon after all…'

Instead of facing Itachi, Yukio was firing off a Dragon Blast towards Katsuyu, who was forced to catch the attack. Yukio watched as the impact of her attack created many smaller slugs fall from where her attack hit Katsuyu. Yukio easily dodged Katsuyu's spit of poison and somersaulted past Itachi as the smaller slugs were coming at her.

Yukio shook her head as she hit the ground with her fists, causing all the smaller slugs to fall in. Itachi jumped away avoiding falling into the holes Yukio had created. Yukio immediately sent a massive fire attack within the holes the slugs had fallen into, successfully melting all of them. Yukio looked up at Katsuyu. '**Stupid slug… What I'm more worried about is that huge Chakra I feel…**'

Yukio performed a long set of seals and faced the huge Katsuyu. "**Ryuusetsu!!**" On both her hands, razor sharp discs of purple Chakra were rotating while the purple Chakra flashed in bolts around Yukio. "**Heh, these disks will easily deal with the summon…**"

Yukio threw both discs at Katsuyu and turned to face Itachi. "**Uchiha Itachi… Let's see how strong you are…**" Behind Yukio, the Dragon Discs began circling around Katsuyu, making it impossible for the summon to move away.

Itachi activated his Sharingan but found out Yukio knew how the fight Sharingan users as she focused on everything BUT his eyes. 'Perhaps it's best if I go all out. I'm strong enough to damage the woman and it might help for Naruto and Gaara…'

Itachi closed his eyes. "Mangekyo Sharingan…" And then he started performing seals. "Kuroi Katon, Karyu Endan!!"

Yukio's eyes widened greatly as she saw the version of the Katon, Karyu Endan performed Uchiha style, meaning black fire… Even Yukio would not be able to withstand that. So she jumped and watched how the stream of black fire bored through the Hokage Tower and continued on its way.

Yukio herself threw another Dragon Blast and watched Itachi dodge, so she moved in to intercept his movements, knowing it was a Shadow Clone which was also going to explode. Yukio was hit by the explosion as she fell through the Itachi Shadow Clone. Yukio landed and showed the real Itachi, who came from under the ground, that she was unharmed. Itachi's Shadow Clone Explosion had no effect.

Itachi performed skills again and surrounded himself with black fire. "This is my absolute defence…"

Yukio grinned. "**You are indeed an impressive Shinobi, Itachi…**"

Yukio rushed forward towards Itachi. Not a single physical attack would work against Itachi now, yet Yukio was running at him. Itachi knew enough as his Sharingan indicated it was not really Yukio rushing at him, but a Dragon Blast which Yukio had changed into a replicate of herself. It was really annoying to see the Dragon Blast, which was still a Yukio body, following Itachi as he jumped away. From a distance, Yukio grinned and let another Dragon Blast join the Itachi-hunting…

She turned her head to see Katsuyu helpless as she was slowly falling apart from all the slices the Dragon Discs were giving her. On top Katsuyu, Sakura was panting even more, after having tried to stop the discs by one of her own attacks. But she missed her target and found herself with even less Chakra. It didn't take long before Sakura didn't have enough Chakra left to remain standing on Katsuyu's head and she fell off.

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A chuckle filled the weird atmosphere they were both in. But this chuckle was different. Gaara could not know for sure what emotion was hidden behind the chuckle that came from Naruto's mouth. Instead, Gaara just observed Naruto, watching the red Chakra around him dance. Gaara narrowed his eyes as Naruto turned to look at him. Gaara's eyes turned from narrowed to widened as he noticed the red irises of the Kyuubi and he now saw them in Naruto's eyes…

'Naruto lost?'

Gaara jumped backwards as the Naruto before him started shaking uncontrollably and Chakra poured out. Naruto started transforming… Gaara's gaze went from below to very high as Naruto grew bigger and bigger. Ultimately, Gaara turned into the Nine-tailed demon himself… The Kyuubi was loose…

'This is not good…' Gaara thought. 'Even with the power I have now… The Kyuubi is probably still stronger than me… But he fought against Naruto, so he should have a lot less Chakra than normal, so I might stand a chance. What about Naruto? Did he die?'

Gaara braced himself as the Kyuubi stared down at him.

"**You must be that whelp's little friend! I sense a huge Chakra in you!**" The Kyuubi paused for a moment. "**A demon's Chakra…**" Gaara watched as the Kyuubi turned his head away from him. "**Your power is very close to mine, I admit. But the Chakra I sense over there… is higher than mine… I'll deal with you after dealing with that one…**"

Gaara turned to look at where the Akatsuki Leader was probably fighting. 'Naruto… what happened?' He thought, before the Kyuubi leaped towards where the Akatsuki Leader was.

Gaara hesitated for one small moment. 'Naruto must still be alive in there…' And then he leaped behind the giant Kyuubi, the most feared demon of all times…

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Yukio laughed like a maniac as Katsuyu disappeared with a puff of smoke. Now only Itachi was left. Yukio 's laughter died down and she swallowed nervously as she noticed a huge red… fox… approaching quickly. '**The Kyuubi!!**'

Itachi's eyes narrowed at the Kyuubi, who jumped over him to stand in front of Yukio. His nine tails had already demolished every building in his way and the ground was crumbled almost everywhere around him. 'I no longer can take part in this battle. Even my own attacks were insufficient against the Akatsuki Leader.'

Itachi noticed the arrival of Gaara and sensed the enormous increase of Chakra within the boy. 'So, Naruto has been killed? But Gaara has succeeded and conquered his demon.' Itachi smiled as he saw Dareda slowly wake up again. 'It shouldn't take too long before the others gain consciousness as well.'

Yukio stared viciously at the demon before her. "**Kyuubi…**"

"**Higaryou…**" The Kyuubi replied back. "**So you got revived? I didn't think I'd see your face again!**" Kyuubi said to the demon within Yukio.

Inside Yukio, the demon spoke against Yukio. '**Against him you'll have to transform completely! We won't be able to beat the Kyuubi without doing so!**'

Gaara approached as well, beside Kyuubi. 'It is odd that the Kyuubi wishes to fight her first…' Gaara looked at the purple-haired woman, who was taller than Itachi, but smaller than Kisame. Her hair reached far below her shoulders. Her skin was light blue, with spots of dark blue. And her eyes seemed to be yellow. Gaara gathered all of his newfound Chakra, showing a whole new side of him.

'**That is Shukaku's old vessel!** **It seems the boy has overcome the demon, it is possible the boy is even more of a threat!**' Higaryou, the dragon demon inside Yukio, warned.

Yukio snorted, ignoring her demon and gathered all of her Chakra as well. '**We'll just see who're more of a threat, them or me… I'll rip them apart!**'

Gaara grinned. 'Hmm, my Chakra is higher than that… It seems she's not realizing that…' Gaara thought as Yukio came rushing at him. Gaara prepared himself, even though he knew the woman would probably not get past his newfound defence.

But before Gaara could retaliate, the Kyuubi intervened and surrounded Yukio with his Chakra, sending her flying. "**Foolish human! With that you won't be able to win!**" The Kyuubi growled as he jumped up and released a huge fire blast at Yukio from his mouth.

Yukio despaired, seeing that the fire blast was too big for her. The fire attack hit her head-on. As the Kyuubi landed again, Gaara narrowed his eyes to see what had happened. In the fire that was still present from where Kyuubi's attack landed, a shadow could be seen. Soon enough, purple Chakra was pushing the fire away and Gaara knew what was happening, recognising what Yukio was doing.

Yukio was transforming…

Not a moment later, A huge purple/blue Dragon Demon was facing a red Fox Demon. Gaara was still watching...

Red Chakra met Purple Chakra in a huge skirmish above and in the middle of Leaf Village. From everywhere in the Fire Country, the clash of the Dragon's and the Kyuubi's Chakra could be seen. The war had ended as all Akatsuki followers either watched in awe or were defeated. Many Genins were still alive as they stared at the awesome display of Chakra. Chuunins were frozen on the spot. And Jounins were either knocked out or they had just woken up and rushing towards the scene, praying that the Kyuubi was not loose again.

Itachi stared at Sasuke and noticed that he was slowly waking up. 'It is time for me to leave…' He jumped away, with Kisame carrying Mokito and Dareda carrying Neji, following. 'Things have turned out wrong… Perhaps the Kyuubi needs to be re-sealed.'

Ino and Sakura were staring wide-eyed at the two demons. 'Wha… What's going on?!' They both thought. Sakura stared at the huge fox and the huge dragon. "I… I think those are demons!! That's a fox!"

Ino nodded, being more as much afraid as amazed. "Kyuubi? I've heard of the demon…"

Tsunade had regained most of her 'normal' state and was trying to heal Jiraiya as she stared above her, where both demons struggled for control. 'Damn it… Naruto, what happened? Did you lose to the Kyuubi?' She stared at Jiraiya. "Wake up! You're the only one who can do the Fourth's Jutsu!"

Kakashi was leaning over Sasuke and had Asuma slung over his shoulder. 'Good, Sasuke is also still alive.' Kakashi had his Sharingan revealed and watched the demon battle above him. 'The Kyuubi… and that Dragon Demon… must be Higaryou… Two demons… this will mean the end of the Village if it continues like this… Naruto, what happened?'

Kurenai was also conscious again; she had woken up because of the enormous Chakra that she sensed. 'What is going on?' As she opened her eyes more clearly, she wished he had not woken up at all. The horrible face of the Fox Demon and the horrible face of a Dragon Demon were within her sight. Shaking her head to get back to her senses again, she looked all around her and noticed many dead people. She then stared straight at Kiba and Akamaru, both still unconscious.

Itachi was far away already when Dareda, Mokito, Neji and Kisame landed next to him on one of the roofs. Since most buildings were blown away around the battle field, they were quite far away from the battle. Itachi was mostly ok, but the others were truly exhausted.

Neji looked sadly at the Kyuubi. 'Naruto… How could this happen?'

Dareda put his hand on Neji's shoulder. "It's too bad we can't see through the Kyuubi and spot Naruto within him with our Byakugan, huh? It's too confusing at this point, but I didn't think anyone could beat Naruto… But then again, Kyuubi is the strongest demon there is…"

Kisame sighed. "Gaara succeeded, right? It's all up to him, now."

Back to the battlefield, Gai walked next to Kakashi with Lee over his shoulder and gazed upwards towards Kyuubi and Higaryou. "Naruto-kun… So the seal has been broken, Kakashi?"

Kakashi tilted his shoulders and his sad look danced over the scenery above him. "Yes, I think it has, Gai… I never knew the Jutsu of my sensei… But it's not sure if it will work this time… Perhaps the Kyuubi has already found a way to defend against it…"

Shikamaru was lying on his back, not bothering to move as he could see everything well enough this way as well. Besides, it would be bothersome to try and stand up again. And there was this thing about demons above him fighting an earth shattering battle. 'Demons… how troublesome… But this is too unreal… Their Chakra is just too much…'

Kiba and Akamaru were awoken by Kurenai and dragged away by her as well as they were too tired to move. Kiba was shocked as Akamaru was telling him about the Chakra amount that the demons and Gaara now held within them.

On a roof, Orochimaru was also eying the scene before him. 'Kyuubi!! So that little brat has fully lost control now?' Orochimaru looked at the demons for a short moment, before he left Leaf Village in a hurry.

Beside Kakashi, Sasuke was staring at the battle without his Sharingan activated. He was still low on Chakra, after all. 'That must be the Fox Demon, Kyuubi…' Sasuke's gaze descended a bit and landed on Gaara. 'Gaara is back again? Where's Naruto, then?' Sasuke thought as he looked around.

Gaara narrowed his eyes as he noticed the rate of Chakra reduce was bigger in Kyuubi and wasn't surprised to see Kyuubi slowly lose the power struggle. 'The Kyuubi is tired from the battle against Naruto… But that Dragon has far more Chakra than him… and even me… I didn't think there was anything as powerful as Shukaku's Chakra and my own Chakra in one…'

Gaara noticed three of Kyuubi's tails approaching and stepped one step backwards to see all three of them swing by. 'Kyuubi's power is also decreasing…'

Gaara performed a few hand seals and stopped Higaryou tackle. The Kyuubi took that moment jump on the dragon and started slicing him and even biting at him.

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Inside Kyuubi, Naruto woke up. He groaned as he shook his head and rubbed his head, feeling the dull ache… 'Ughh… I lost to him… But he didn't kill me…'

-------------------------------------------------------------------Flashback--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"**Now you'll live as I have lived for 19 years!!**" The Kyuubi chuckled. "**I'll finish you off later, whelp! Right now, I sense the Dragon Demon in the outside world and I am ashamed to admit, that that demon is possibly stronger than me…**"

The Kyuubi used his Chakra to pick the paper with 'seal' on it and used to lock the gates that held Naruto now…

-----------------------------------------------------------------End Flashback-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto sighed as he tried to wake up more fully. The Kyuubi had knocked him out quite good. He took a look at the seal that stopped him from escaping from the cage and chuckled.

The little paper suddenly changed into a Naruto Shadow Clone with some smoke. 'I'm surprised the Kyuubi didn't notice…'

When Naruto had created the thousand Shadow Clones, he let one of them destroy the seal and let the Shadow Clone transform in the paper seal himself, thus fooling even a demon.

Naruto chuckled as he walked out of the gates…

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Gaara frowned as Kyuubi was easily blown backwards by the Dragon's arms. 'I am Gaara, but I am also Shukaku now… I am everything that Shukaku once was…' Gaara quickly performed seals again. "Hangetsuzan!!"

Higaryou watched as the little red-haired man changed both his arms into huge claws. The Dragon jumped backwards to avoid the two claws coming from Gaara and flew a bit in the sky.

Gaara's eyes widened as he watched Chakra being formed inside the Dragon's mouth. And then, the Dragon released an enormous amount of destructive Chakra towards Gaara. Gaara immediately put all of his defences in front of him, including the ultimate defence he now has thanks to Shukaku.

But Gaara never felt the impact as the Kyuubi managed to jump onto the Dragon and began to use Chakra as a weapon, burning the Dragon's skin bit by bit.

The moment of dragon skin burning was short-lived however, as the Dragon grabbed the Kyuubi with both his arms and opened his mouth right in front of Kyuubi's face.

And then the strangest thing happened…

Gaara watched as Kyuubi grew smaller, a lot smaller…

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The Kyuubi was panting as he stood inside of himself, facing Naruto, who managed to get out of the Gates… which forced the Kyuubi to enter himself and deal with the 'intruder.'

"**Whelp!! How dare you interrupt the battle like this!! And how did you get out of the Gates!?**"

Naruto chuckled. "Ne, Kyuubi! You're out of Chakra from fighting me and that Akatsuki Leader… You won't defeat me again!"

The Kyuubi chuckled. "**Fool! Don't underestimate a demon!!**"

"And don't underestimate me either!! The last Rasengan Funka I gave you wounded you… it wounded you bad… if I did another you would surely lose…"

"**That could be true… but you had no Chakra left anymore, which proved that you were not strong enough to beat me!**" The Kyuubi snarled back.

"Heh, well, I could have performed another Rasengan Funka if I wanted, but that would mean both our deaths… And now that I have regained a bit of my Chakra and you lost a lot more against that Akatsuki Leader… you're history for sure!!"

The Kyuubi's eyes widened as Naruto prepared his ultimate attack again.

"Rasengan Funka!!"

"**Whelp, no!!**"

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A lot of gasps came from the watching Shinobis as they recognised the boy the Kyuubi turned into… Sasuke's, Sakura's, Ino's, Shikamaru's and Kiba's eyes were widened as they saw Naruto.

Tsunade and Gaara both grinned for the same reason. Naruto had won after all… Kakashi was relieved as well to see his ex-student held his demon back, perhaps even defeated it.

Far away, Neji, Dareda, Itachi, Kisame and Mokito all startled as they felt the Chakra increase. Neji and Dareda both activated their Byakugan and they smiled immediately. "Naruto has succeeded." Neji stated. "Now all we can do is hope."

Back to the battlefield, Higaryou looked down upon the human the Kyuubi had turned into and planned on stepping on it. As he did so, he was surprised to find him being blown back by a whole new Chakra coming from the boy's body.

Higaryou hissed as instead of falling on the ground, he flew. '**That boy managed to blow me away with his Chakra alone?!**'

Naruto rose to his feet and wasn't surprised to see Gaara step up next to him. "It took you long enough… Naruto…"

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Heh, yea, sorry I took so long… Still have to get a bit used to all this, man…"

Gaara was looking forward, at the Dragon that was flying before them, as his wings flapped about, the winds they created were enough to blow a Jounin away. Naruto and Gaara looked around to see if there was no one else around. "There's no time for that, Naruto."

Naruto nodded as he stared at the humongous Dragon. "Let's start this, Gaara!!"

Higaryou watched astounded as both men gathered Chakra… "**How can this be?!**** They have an enormous amount of Chakra, both of them!! They possess the Kyuubi's and the Shukaku's Chakra… but not only that… they have even more!! Too think that could happen… I guess you leave me no choice…"**

Higaryou also turned smaller all of a sudden and Naruto and Gaara found themselves staring at a purple-haired woman. Yukio was back and this time, she had all of Higaryou's Chakra and her own… "**Interesting tactics you come up with… But I can do the same…**" She whispered dangerously as purple Chakra was whirling around her.

Naruto and Gaara smiled as they found their true challenge in Yukio… She gathered all of her own Chakra and that of Higaryou… Three very strong Shinobis were about to face off… and all three were smirking… perhaps even in madness…

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Iruka was jumping from roof to roof with Ten-Ten, who he had picked up on the way. They were going to check and see how the other Leaf Shinobis were doing. On their way, they encountered Kankurou, Temari and Baki, who seemed to have been helping the Chuunins and Genins out. It was a gloom sight, really, as many Chuunins and Genins were also found dead. Amongst the shambles of the buildings a lot of dead bodies, even some Jounins, were found.

Iruka had been saddened as he saw the Kyuubi appear. Which probably meant it had broken loose and Naruto was most likely dead… 

"So, what's the situation back there?" Baki asked Iruka as the five of them were standing on a roof.

"When we left, there were two demons fighting each other… two real demons… The Kyuubi and a Dragon Demon." Iruka answered.

Baki's eyes widened. "The Kyuubi?! But I though the demon was defeated about… twenty years ago?"

"Nineteen to be exact. But no, the Kyuubi was not defeated. It was sealed within a boy nineteen years ago and now the demon is free again. The situation is hopeless, because it's pretty sure that after one demon will be defeated, the other demon will begin attacking everything else around him…"

Baki swallowed nervously. "Gaara is here as well, he might make a difference…" Temari and Kankurou were both nervous as well as they stared at the medic nins running around healing those who still could be saved.

Iruka nodded his head. "He's the Sand Shinobi with the red hair, huh?" After receiving a nod from Baki, Iruka continued. "Yeah, he's also participating in the battle up ahead."

"Ten-Ten-sensei!!"

Ten-Ten released a sigh of relief as she watched her Genin students approach her.

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TBC

Author's Note: Heh, Naruto won against Kyuubi after all!! Now it's a full battle fest of reasonably full-powered Naruto and a reasonably full-powered Gaara(considering they fought against their own demons) versus a full-powered Yukio/Higaryou…

Next Chapter: Explanation to the ones who didn't know about Naruto being the vessel of the Nine-tailed Demon…

Oh, and about Yukio, this is her last transformation; this is her giving her all from now on…


	22. Decisions To Be Made

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto, I don't.

Author's Note: Ok, a lot of Naruto and Gaara action in this one and the total revelations of the link between Naruto and Kyuubi is released over a few people, so a few thoughts here in there...

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Review Reply Corner:

**Curlsofserenity**: Heh, yep, the Kyuubi is no more… Thanks for reviewing!

**Sirus183**: Yeah… I'm sorry the Kyuubi's dead… Heh, here's the next chapter, thnx for the review!

**Alden**-**san**: Nope, Hinata has grown a lot since Naruto's disappearance, and has become very talented now, being a Chuunin Leader. Hanabi is good Genin and is on her way ;)… Uhmm, yep, there's probably going to be a book 3 and a book 4, but I'm not going to tell what they're going to be about.

**Sally**: Heh, Naruto is a lot stronger now… Here's an update, thnx for reviewing!

**:D**: Now worries, no worries. I guess it's probably a lot to remember… Thanks for the review!!

**Misu no Yami**: Yep, this Chapter is also a bit shorter than the others. I'm glad you still like it despite that. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

**RuByMoOn17**: Thanks!! I hope you like this one as well! Thnx for reviewing!

**FlareOfDragon**: No prob, we all have busy lives. About your question: When Kyuubi was defeated his entire Chakra was back to hundred percent and then put into Naruto himself. So what Naruto now has is mostly the full Kyuubi's Chakra and little bit of his own, what was left…

**Lemmings12**: Ah, I;m glad you enjoy the battle scenes. And about Higaryou in Yukio: It's all about the Scrolls. After she learned all of the techniques of the Hidden Scrolls, she became the last descendant of the Ryuuki Clan and as a 'present' she received the demon Higaryou, also as a follow-up after learning everything of all the Scrolls.

**Maya Amano**: The strongest Summon? I think Manda is the strongest… But heck, who am I to know? Maybe Katsuyu is the strongest, or one of Kakashi's digs, heh… In comparison, Yukio is somewhat stronger than Naruto, with the state Naruto now is in. Yukio has high speed, being from the same clan Haku was and her Bloodline Limit is beneficial, but not really helpful in the situation and on top of that she has a demon in her with all its Chakra completely hers. Oh well, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! I updated this one in two days, didn't I? -Shrugs- Oh well, Thanks for reviewing!

**Lostlily**: Finally, so we get to see what the Akatsuki is up to in your fic? Heh, I hope you enjoy this chapter, though… Thanks for reviewing!!

**Kage-shalom**: Heh, thanks!! Forbidden Scrolls? Yukio became what she is now thanks to those Scrolls. Ja, thanks for reviewing!!

**A**: I guess she could be considered Mary Sue, but she is a bad person and fighting Naruto and Gaara, so…. -whistle- Heh, I'm glad my spelling and grammar is good. Usually those suck with me…

**Nobuyasha**: Thanks a lot! I appreciate you saying that! Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy!

**DarkLinx10**: heh, yeah well… sorry… Thanks for liking it!! Oh, I just have a few days off now so I just started writing away… Heh, kinda enjoying it too… It usually takes a little less than three hours to have a chapter finished, just correcting it and making it 'just' right takes a little longer. Thanks for reviewing!

**En Satsu Koku Ryuu Ha**: Three days?! Whoa, I'm glad you're still reading it! Here's an update! Thanks for reviewing!

**Irony**: Heh, I'm glad you liked Naruto's actions. My native language? Dutch. And yeah, my English isn't that good, so you might encounter words I use a lot to describe things, heh. And your native language is?

**Moonlight's Shadow**: Hell yeah!! Hehe, Naruto beat Kyuubi! Thanks for reviewing!!

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It felt great, no more than great. They had finally reached the point where they had always wanted to be. No longer could people point at them, yell at them about being demons. No longer would they be compared to monsters or killers. Perhaps, finally, they would be recognised as beings, genuine beings who just tried to go through life like everyone else, instead of being the reason for all the chaos… Perhaps they would, if they survived fighting the woman before them, that is.

Truth be told, Naruto and Gaara were grinning confidently. Defeating their demons gave them all their Chakra on top of their own. While they had been using most of their own Chakra against their demons, the death of their demons gave them the full Chakra again, making them slightly stronger as their own Chakra had not yet been completely restored to the original amount. But a demon's Chakra and little of your own should be sufficient… Especially when there were two…

Naruto smiled. 'No longer is the Kyuubi inside me… His strength and his Chakra even his speed… they are no longer his, but mine… completely mine… I'll have to get used to this…'

**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 21

"Kakashi…" Sasuke started, after noticing Shino, Chouji, Hinata, Genma and Aoba had woken up as well. "Why did that Fox Demon turn into Naruto?"

Ino, Sakura, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru were standing behind Sasuke and also wanted to know. Gai, who held Lee, looked at Kakashi, who had Asuma on his shoulder, with a serious expression.

Kakashi sighed as he hid his Sharingan. "I guess I can tell you now… since I think the Fourth's Jutsu has now completely finished its job…"

Genma, Aoba and Kurenai were all looking at Gaara and Naruto and silently agreed with Kakashi. It seems the Fourth's Jutsu's full purpose was to ultimately let the vessel kill the demon.

"Nineteen years ago, the Kyuubi attacked our Village. Many Shinobis were killed and most buildings were crashed down. The Kyuubi had hit the Village hard. The Fourth Hokage, the strongest Hokage at that time, arrived at the scene and used one of his own special Jutsu to seal the Kyuubi within a baby. The Kyuubi had never been defeated, because it simply could not be beaten at that time. But to go on, The Fourth died during his own Jutsu, because that particular Jutsu seals himself as well… The Fourth had succeeded and the Kyuubi was sealed within a boy, named Naruto…"

All the rookie Genins from thirteen years ago gasped.

Kakashi continued. "It's odd that none of you guys ever wondered why almost everyone hated Naruto. Strangely enough, instead of seeing Naruto as a legacy of the Fourth Hokage, a hero, almost everyone saw him as the Kyuubi, because the Demon was still alive inside of him. They blamed Naruto was all those deaths, while Naruto himself never had anything to do with it. Imagine, living a life where everyone hates you and on top of that, not even knowing WHY you're being hated. Naruto found out he was the vessel of the Kyuubi thirteen years ago, a few days before he became Genin."

Kakashi sighed at the gloom looks in front of him. 'Perhaps you will be acknowledged now, Naruto…' Kakashi shivered at the Chakra Gaara and Naruto were radiating. 'Such strength they possess now…'

Tsunade and Jiraiya were on the other side of the Battlefield, both awake. "Heh, so that brat finally did it. He has defeated the Kyuubi. Very impressive. And Gaara has succeeded as well. He has defeated the Shukaku. Do you know what that means, Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked with a grin as he looked at Tsunade, who was slowly reverting back to her young state.

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. They are now the strongest Shinobis… And they're also… still Chuunins… I hope they are able to beat the woman."

'So, Naruto was hated for THAT reason? That's… That's too cruel…' Ino thought. 'Even I disliked him back in those days… How Naruto must have felt…'

Sakura's line of thoughts were almost parallel to Ino's. 'To be able to withstand all that hate, without knowing why he was hated… To think ANYONE can endure that… Naruto… I'm sorry…'

Kakashi continued. "But no more. Naruto no longer has the Kyuubi inside of him, I think. I'm guessing he has beaten the Kyuubi now… And gained all of his power… and probably all of his knowledge as well… I wonder what will happen now?"

The older Jounins present nodded. "Naruto-kun, Gaara-kun, I'll pray for you two!!" Gai yelled.

'Damn… so Naruto also had a terrible past…possibly even worse than mine…'Sasuke thought. 'That total idiot… how could he stand all that without killing everyone?!'

'Heh, this much could have been figured from just watching it…' Shikamaru thought. 'It is odd to think Naruto lived with such a burden his entire life… I just thought he was a brat always doing pranks…'

'Naruto-kun… Kyuubi? That's so harsh… And yet, he always smiled… he was always laughing… I… I have been watching him a lot and never noticed anything sad in him all those years ago… Naruto, to think you're that good at putting up a façade…' Hinata thought.

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"Naruto… Tell me, is it true you know a lot more techniques than before now?" Gaara suddenly asked. "I ask because I do know more now… It seems I have truly gained ALL of Shukaku…"

Naruto nodded. "yes, it's true… But how can that be? I… know techniques I never performed before, but somehow, I know what they all do… It's strange…"

Gaara smiled. "Strange, but beneficial… With the amount of Chakra we possess now we can do outstanding techniques…"

Yukio narrowed her eyes at both of them. "**Are you two done talking? It's time to settle this! I never expected I'd be forced to do this, but after you two are out of my way, there'll be no single obstacle left…**"

"Aw, shut it!" Naruto yelled back. "You'll never beat the two of us!"

Gaara grinned as he inwardly activated all of his defences. "I suggest you kill yourself. Otherwise you will walk a path of only pain and embarrassment…"

Yukio gritted her teeth and in less than a second two Dragon Blasts were heading for Naruto and Gaara.

"**What the…!?**" Yukio was more than surprised to see Naruto use a special Chakra field of some sort and watched as her Dragon Blast seemed to struggle to get through. Moving her shocked gaze to Gaara she that her Dragon Blast didn't reach Gaara by a few millimetres… Sand had stopped its way. Yukio managed to jump out of the way as her own Dragon Blast came back at her as Naruto shot it back with his Chakra.

"Give up. Fighting even one of us will prove too much for you. Fighting the two of us will be fatal to you… Bow and accept death." Gaara offered as he had his arms folded.

Naruto grinned as he tried to mimic Gaara and folded his arms as well. "Yeah!!"

Yukio shook her head and rushed forward and awesome speed, appearing behind Gaara, crushing through his defence and knocking him hard away. She continued to attack Naruto, who blocked the punch and kick Yukio gave and countered her Chakra Wave with his own Chakra, causing the ground to shake.

Gaara rose to his feet. Sand was falling from his back, where Yukio had hit him. 'Hmm, as I thought. She IS stronger than me or Naruto…' He thought as Yukio grabbed Naruto's face with her two arms and head butted him hard backwards.

Gaara immediately released a huge Sand Wave towards Yukio, big enough to swallow a whole Village. Yukio used Chakra to dispel the Jutsu and rushed through the remaining sand to hit Gaara, crashing through his defence and again managing to hit him through his Armor as well.

Gaara grinned as he landed, while blood was pouring from the left corner of his mouth. 'She's using too much Chakra. Even though she has plenty, she shouldn't use that much to defend against attacks. Against us that will be a mistake…'

Naruto was doing hand seal after hand seal. "Hyousoundare!!"

Yukio frowned as she found herself on a huge mountain, it seemed she was somewhere totally different. The mountain Naruto had created this time was the hugest ever.

The Konoha Jounins and Chuunins were gaping at the huge mountain before them.

Gaara smiled as he also found himself on the mountain. 'I'll have to get out of here before I also get hit…'

'Genjutsu?' Yukio thought before she watched above her to see Naruto. She immediately ran towards him, only to see Naruto throw a huge avalanche at her. Yukio's eyes widened.

Yukio quickly jumped as high as she could, avoiding most of the Avalanche, until a larger wave of ice and snow managed to take her down. Naruto smiled as Yukio screamed in pain as the Ice sliced and smothered her from every side.

As Naruto made the mountain disappear, Gaara performed seals. Yukio did not have time to recover as Gaara released a new technique as well. "Fuuton Gufuu Renkuudan!!"

Yukio watched in terror as a huge Chakra-induced Wind Blast came at her, spinning at the same time. Yukio found herself in the middle of it and had to use Chakra to keep her body together. She screamed in pain as the Jutsu threatened to rip her entire body apart. '**D-damn!!** **Such power they possess!!**'

As Gaara's Jutsu stopped, Yukio used her Chakra to heal herself. '**Fighting both of them at the same time is too hard. I'll have to take one out fast.**'

"It is over. You've used far too much Chakra already." Gaara seriously uttered. "We will kill you now…"

Yukio screamed in full fury as she lunged at Gaara at full speed. Gaara was blown backwards harshly and found a Dragon Blast making an impact on his defence but saw as a second Dragon Blast hit him full on the body, penetrating his Armor of Sand as well… Gaara landed on the ground, grunting in pain as his torso was burning. 'Tch… Her speed…'

Naruto stared wide-eyed before bracing himself as Yukio turned to him and appeared behind him. Naruto also appeared behind her only to face Yukio's elbow. As Naruto landed on his back, Yukio had already grabbed his right leg and threw him in the air, immediately following him with a move similar to the Shadow Dance. But instead of appearing behind the enemy, Yukio appeared in front of Naruto. "Ryuuken Rendan!!"

Naruto could do nothing as Yukio began with a slicing sweep with her feet across his hip, creating a gash because of the sharp Chakra. Naruto never moved away because of the hit as it just barely skimmed at him, but the effect was a lot bigger than one would expect. She continued with another sweeping motion with her arm, also just to use Chakra to create a wound on Naruto's body. This time she hit Naruto's chest, causing a huge rip in his skin to appear, as she ripped through his dark red cloak. Yukio continued with a somersault in the air, slicing across Naruto's stomach, chest and face. Naruto screamed as Yukio performed the Shadow Dance and appeared behind Naruto. "Ryukagusai!!"

With a huge cloud of Chakra around her, Yukio embraced Naruto with it and made it slice at Naruto from all sides, before slamming Naruto downwards.

Gaara softened Naruto's impact on the ground with sand and watched as Naruto healed his wounds with his Chakra. 'This is not good… The both of us are also using too much Chakra, especially Naruto… But he also has a lot more Chakra than I do…'

Yukio landed in front of Gaara with grin on her face. "**Heh, you two are also using a lot Chakra. How's your stomach?**"

Unlike Naruto, Gaara couldn't really heal himself as fast. Because his defence didn't often let anything through, he never really bothered. He could heal himself, but it just took longer than Naruto, who could do it instantly. Speaking of which, Naruto was already up and ready to fight again.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at Yukio. 'She is powerful… but I think we can take her…'

This time, it was Naruto who used his newfound speed to surprise Yukio and had created two Shadow Clones underneath Yukio, who were both now holding her legs. Yukio used Chakra to destroy both of them, but was too late to dodge the three Rasengans Naruto had thrown at her and she fell on the ground several feet away.

Gaara quickly performed hand seals. "Suna Shuurajou!!"

Yukio rose from the ground, still recovering from the Rasengans that had ripped through her stomach. But purple Chakra was already healing it. Yukio's eyes widened as hardened sand spikes appeared around her and drilled through her body. Yukio screamed in pain.

Naruto and Gaara simply looked at the screaming, bleeding woman with a serious expression, not feeling the slightest pity for her as she started coughing up blood.

Yukio then gathered a lot of Chakra to make the Sand spikes disappear and immediately fell to the ground, letting her Chakra heal her. '**Damn them!!**'

Yukio, still bleeding, rolled sideways as se saw Naruto above her, with another Rasengan ready. The Rasengan ripped through the ground as Yukio jumped to her feet, Chakra still healing her from the massive wounds she inflicted.

Naruto landed in front of her. Yukio somersaulted away to avoid being embraced by a huge hand of sand. Naruto performed hand seals again. "Kyuu Muchutsu!!"

Yukio jumped from the left to right repeatedly, avoiding nine whip-formed Chakra shapes, who all crumbled through the ground easily with each strike. As the nine whips stopped, Yukio performed her own technique. "**Kage Ryudan!!**"

Naruto was ripped to pieces as what seemed like Purple Chakra Blades, came from out of Yukio's Shadow and were shot towards Naruto. Yukio looked annoyed as another Naruto appeared to her left and yelled. "Ryouganku no Jutsu!!"

Yukio jumped backwards to avoid the huge wave of lava coming out of Naruto's mouth. As Yukio landed on the ground, she immediately got surrounded by sand and got trapped in.

Gaara smirked. "This was known as the Sphere of Shukaku… but now I call it the Sphere of Gaara…" Gaara spoke out loud. 'I have to be quick, knowing her power, she can probably get out easily…'

Gaara immediately let hundreds of hardened spikes appear inside the Sphere to cut at the enemy. When no scream was hurt, Gaara let the Sphere grow smaller to squeeze her and ended by letting it explode.

Gaara snarled. 'So she escaped before I started…' From underground and behind Gaara, Yukio appeared, only to be blown away by an intervening Naruto, who kicked her hard in the side of her face, not letting her attack Gaara from behind.

Gaara and Naruto were standing next to each other as they watched Yukio stand up again.

"Damn, she's really strong, Gaara." Naruto said. "If you can stop her movements, I'll give her my best attack…" He whispered.

Yukio chuckled. "**Idiot. You think I don't hear your whispering? But it's useless, because even your best attack won't be able to harm me…**"

Gaara performed hand seals fast. Naruto recognised the hand seals and stopped him. "No, don't use that one… it'll put you out of the fight and… it's not sure whether it would work on someone like her… In this situation, the Shinken is definitely a suicide move, Gaara…"

Gaara still had his hand clapped together, but continued to do other hand seals. "Fine… Hangetsuzan!" Gaara's right arm grew a lot bigger and he let it soar towards Yukio..

Yukio easily side-stepped the huge arm and threw another Dragon Blast at Gaara, who managed to let his defences stop it. Naruto rushed forward while yelling "Suiton, Suidan Daitoppa!!"

Chakra surrounded Naruto and from out of the Chakra huge Waterballs were released, all towards Yukio. Yukio gritted her teeth as she tried to do everything she could to avoid getting hit. She felt those Waterballs packed a lot of power.

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"What a battle…" Lee uttered. He had woken up a few minutes ago and was on Gai's back, as he could not stand on his own. "Naruto-kun and Gaara of the Desert… They're so strong…"

Kakashi nodded. "Indeed… They're the strongest Shinobis I've ever seen…" Kakashi had his mouth open under his mask as he was staring at the battle. 'None of us can join the battle now… We would simply be destroyed in an instant when Yukio spots us interfering…'

Sasuke was narrowing his eyes at the battle. 'They're doing impossible Jutsus, even one of the Jutsus they use take a lot of Chakra… Enough Chakra to make a regular Jounin almost tired… And they're performing one after another, not showing any sign of getting tired… How can anyone become that strong?!' Sasuke dropped his gaze to the ground. 'How can you expect a rival now, Naruto?'

Jiraiya analyzed the battle. "Without the Kyuubi's Chakra, Naruto and Gaara both were already stronger than me… now with the Kyuubi's Chakra, they've more than doubled their power. But since they've lost most of their own Chakra fighting their own demons, both of them are not fighting at their fullest power… If they had all of their own Chakra, they would crush the woman easily…"

'Naruto… You've become so strong… Where all of us could do nothing against her when she was a lot weaker than now, you manage to hurt her in the state she is in now.' Sakura thought. 'I can't believe the Chakra I sense within Naruto and Gaara…'

'She was the first ever to be able to throw me out with Chakra alone and that was when she was in a weaker state than she is in now. I don't want to know how strong she is now, but Naruto and Gaara are actually pushing her back. They are so much stronger than me…' Ino thought. 'I think Naruto and Gaara can throw me out with their Chakra alone as well.'

All of the Jounins and Chuunins looked up to see Iruka, Temari, Kankurou, Baki, Ten-Ten and a few Genins approaching.

"Lee-sensei!!"

Lee looked to see the Genins Hyuga Hanabi, Gekkou Toji and Morino Ujin walk up to him as he was still on Gai's back.

Hanabi snorted at him. "Hmph! You're weak, Sensei! You can't even stand on your own!" Toji and Ujin nodded in agreement as they shook their heads.

Lee pouted, before he started to sob silently in embarrassment. Gai just chuckled. "So these are your students, Lee? They look impressive! True examples of Youth Power indeed!!"

The other Jounins sweat dropped.

"Oy, Nara-sensei! Why are you not helping out there?"

Shikamaru groaned, not liking that he had to turn his face to see who of his students was talking to him. 'Of course. Damn brat…' Shikamaru thought as Konohamaru was standing in front of him, with Moegi by his side. His other student, Aoba Ruin, was talking to his father, the Konoha Jounin Aoba, who was standing with Genma.

"Because it's too troublesome. If I head in there, I'd only get killed. Only morons fight a battle they know they're going to lose, idiot."

Konohamaru wanted to reply, but couldn't find anything smart to say back. "I like that last sentence, Nara-sensei!" Shikamaru just groaned and turned away.

'Gaara…' Temari was watching her little brother fight the incredible battle. 'Together with Naruto, he's facing the strongest of them all… Their Chakra is all over this place…'

Kankurou and Baki thought just about the same thing as they observed Gaara.

"Kakashi. What happened?" Iruka asked as he stepped next to Kakashi. "Naruto is back…" Kakashi could hear the relief and joy in Iruka's voice as he said that. He let Iruka continue. "What happened?"

"It seems Naruto has killed the Kyuubi, Iruka. He's completely free…"

Iruka's eyes widened at Kakashi, before he turned away and stared at the fighting Naruto.

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Naruto found himself in the air, groaning in pain as Yukio had sent him flying hard backwards. He skidded hard over the ground before he came to a stop. 'Damn it, Damn it!, DAMN IT!! We're not moving forward!!' Naruto thought as he watched Gaara trying to catch Yukio with awesome and huge sand attacks, but saw Yukio easily dodge them or simply rush through them. Even when hardened sand spikes were surrounding Yukio from all sides, Yukio managed to escape and appear behind Gaara, who was forced to drop his attack to gather all his Chakra to guard against Yukio's attack.

Naruto ran back to them and performed a new set of seals. "Taiyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!"

Yukio's eyes widened as she saw thousands and thousands of Shadow Clones around her. Even Gaara looked slightly surprised. 'Heh, so this is what it means to have a Demon's Chakra…'

Gaara was allowed to jump away through all the Shadow Clones, but Yukio wasn't.

Almost all Shadow Clones gripped Shurikens and Kunais. "Ok!! This is the ultimate Naruto Combo!!"

More than a thousand Shadow Clones began throwing Kunai after Kunai and Shuriken after Shuriken at her, while the remaining Shadow Clones were moving underground.

Yukio dodged most of the Kunai and Shuriken and only got hit on areas where it wouldn't really matter. All of a sudden, she fell through the ground and found herself by a lot of other Shadow Clones. Held in place, Yukio could not dodge the next rain of Kunai and Shuriken. Yukio screamed…

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"Damn, he created a lot of them…" Kiba said as he petted Akamaru, who was standing next to him. "Damn that idiot, there's no way I can beat him now…"

Sakura and Ino were staring unbelieving at the thousands of Naruto Shadow Clones.

The Genins were all more than impressed and were watching the battle with wide opened eyes. "That's Naruto-nii-chan!!" Konohamaru yelled. 'How… He's become so strong… I'm jealous…'

Shikamaru analyzed everything. 'He's created so many Shadow Clones… but sensing his Chakra, every Shadow Clone apart has more than enough Chakra to give a lot of damage. If I would fight him, there's not a single way I would win… He can easily get out of my Shadow Bind and any other techniques I have are too weak to even tickle him now, I bet. How troublesome…'

Tsunade had now fully regained her young state and was watching the battle before her with Jiraiya. "We could probably join in now, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya shook his head. "No way. They're far more powerful than the both of us. Even summoning GamaBunta or Katsuyu now would make no difference…"

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With an incredible explosion of purple Chakra, Naruto found himself blown away and all of his Shadow Clones defeated. 'How?! How can we beat someone like her!! She fights just like me and Gaara and on top of that, she is able to heal herself as fast as me!'

Gaara continued fighting Yukio, letting about twenty fast and huge hands of sand roam around the area, all of them trying to grab and ultimately squeeze Yukio to death. 'I'll let my new version of the Sabaku Kyuu active while I attack her.' Gaara performed a new set of seals. "Suna Shuriken!!" Gaara was a little surprised his Sand Shurikens were now a lot bigger and faster than before, but couldn't be very disappointed with it…

Yukio growled in anger as sand was all around her and it became more difficult to dodge all those huge hands and now the Sand Shurikens Gaara had thrown at her. '**They just won't give up!!**'

Yukio's eyes widened as two Rasengans were about to hit her. She dodged at the last second and watched the Rasengans destroy two hands of sand.

While Gaara focused on the hands of sand to make them faster, Naruto jumped in the middle and started a hand to hand combat with Yukio.

Gaara narrowed his eyes. 'I'll have to do it, Naruto… It's the only way we'll really destroy her.'

It was a new technique Gaara had learned from Itachi. While it took a lot of Chakra and put the user unconscious for AT LEAST two days, Gaara wanted to do it. Itachi did it on him once and Itachi was unconscious for almost a week. Gaara wondered how long he would be unconscious now, now that he had gained the Shukaku's Chakra as well. When Itachi had performed the Shinken on him, Gaara found all of his defences disabled, simply because everything around him had simply… stopped. He could not move, not talk, not move his eyes and not channel Chakra in any way. It only took about three minutes and there was a chance the victim was put into a coma afterwards, but that chance was only meant for victims who had a Chakra level lower than that of a high-levelled Chuunin, but Itachi was almost out for a week. The Jutsu was useful in this situation, Gaara figured, but it would make him unconscious, that was sure. And then there was the chance that it would not work at all on someone like Yukio, as Naruto had stated before… Gaara was still hesitating…

Fists connected with each other as Naruto tried to hit Yukio and Vice versa.

Suddenly all of the sand towered above Naruto and Yukio. Gaara took the element of surprise to quickly use sand to take Naruto away and drop all other sand on Yukio.

As Yukio flew out of the sand, she rushed forward…

Gaara performed a few seals and this time ignored Naruto as he said. "Gaara, no!"

"Shinken!!"

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TBC

Author's Note: Hehe, well, in the next chapter the fight will end. What will happen?! Will Konoha fall? Will Naruto die? Or Gaara? Or both? Will the Shinken (Death Shield) fail? Shinken means the user loses every sense (five senses – sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste) and the capability of moving around and channelling Chakra for three to ten minutes… After that, the victim regains everything again, any victims who are regular Chuunin or lower fall into coma. Anything higer will just stay conscious, perhaps being dizzy a bit after regaining all senses back in one small and fast moment.

I know this chapter was rather short…(around 4800 words when I type this) Sorry! I'll release the next chapter as fast I can, but I have a prom tomorrow(Tuesday) and the day after that I'm gonna go to the beach reeeaaallly early… I usually type my chapter after 1:00 AM, I'm somewhat a night-person, or what do you call it? Newayz, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please R&R!

G'bye!


	23. Conclusions

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: Last chapter of Book 2!! I'll begin on Book 3 in a few days. I hope you enjoy this chappy! By the way, I owe a lot to Hattuteline, who helped creating Yukio Fetaru, the Takabashi Siblings and Kinokomaru Kutake, the Spore Guy. Hattuteline also came up with the move Shinken!

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Review Reply Corner:

**Misu** **no** **Yami**: Thank you for thinking it's awesome! And for what it's worth, I think you reply is fast enough as it is! Thnx for reviewing!

**Gopu**: Heh, thank you! Thnks for the review!

**BigAznDaddy**: Yep, I have a lot of free time, which is real nice… Oh well, thanks for reviewing!

**En** **Satsu** **Koku** **Ryuu** **Ha**: Heh, so it actually worsens the eyes? I didn't know that. Now I know why my eyes are that bad… Oh well, hope you enjoy this chappy and thanks for reviewing!

**Monaki-cheung**: Cliffhangers galore and encore! Heh, sorry. Well, here's the next and last chapter of this book. Hope you enjoy!

**Stoictimer**: No prob! I'm glad you liked it. Here's an update, thnx for the review!

**Sally**: Yeeaahhh… What IS going to happen? Who knows? They'll probably all die… eventually, I mean. Thanks for reviewing!

**Shade89**: Heh, isn't it great? I think it is anyway… Oh well, here's the next chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

**Maya** **Amano**: Heh, for me it's just that I'm a night person, while I almost always sleep the entire day, mostly on school. I'm kinda known to be someone who falls asleep easy during the day. Originally, I actually wanted Naruto to be Kyuubi and destroy Yukio easily and then attack everyone else, but that was… I don't really remember why I didn't do that… And everyone should love Naruto! Well, not really, of course. I couldn't find that music you were listening to, though… Heh, many, many thanks you like my story!! Thanks for the long review!

**FlareOfDragon**: Well, Naruto is about age 19, Neji is 20, Sasuke is 19 and Gaara is 19 as well. Five years ago they got kidnapped by Itachi and co./Orochimaru. That was when that second Chuunin Exam was, and Naruto and the gang were around 14/15… The Naruto in the real Show now is about 13/14. So with all Genin Rookies from 13 years ago, I was indeed, completely wrong… It was supposed to be all Genin Rookies from 6 years ago. Such a terrible mistake, thank you for notifying it. But I still think most people knew who I meant with the Genin Rookies.

**Moonlight's** **Shadow**: Yep, yep. But then again, Naruto and Gaara have beaten their demons and gotten their everything in return. So it's only logical. It's the same for Yukio, who got her power from a demon in her as well. Oh well, Gaara will faint, that's for sure ;) Hope you enjoy the chappy and thnx for reviewing!

**Trickmaster**: Heh, thanks!! I'm glad you like the fight scenes! Well, I hope you enjoy what's going to happen here! Thanks for reviewing!

**Sirus183**: Heh, no worries. I needed someone that could mean a true challenge to Naruto and Gaara, so… But here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

**EfrainMan**: Heh, Thanks a lot! I'm glad you like the battles! Naruto and Gaara rock all! Right? Ja, here's the next chappy! Hope you enjoy!

**Dark** **Phoenix**: heh, indeed. I hoped it would be surprising actually… Heh, many thanks for reviewing!

**Magicalfoci**: Whoa, thanks, man!! It was really difficult to write the Kyuubi-Naruto/Gaara-Shukaku fight, because I'm afraid I'll do it all wrong! Oooh, I really hope you like what I did in this chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

**:D**: Heh, yeah, I think Shinken is cool too! and yeah, sorry about the cliffhanger… I thank you for reviewing!

**RuByMoOn17**: Thank you! I'm glad you think so. Thnx for reviewing!

**Irony**: It is weird, cause I also think it is defense, but the damn 'Spelling and Grammar' Check indicates it should be defence. It's really weird… Oh well, thanks for the help and the review!

**123**: Heh, thanks! I'm glad you like it! Here's the next chappy for ya! Thnx for reviewing!

**SilverKnight7**: Heh, everyone dies… eventually. Why wait for it if you can make it come to you? Oh well, thanks for reviewing! I hope you like the chappy!

**Youshi**: Heh, I'm glad for that. Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!

**TyRooNe**: Sasuke will take it slowly from now on, after having realised that he indeed has been surpassed by Naruto. I'm glad you like the way I write battles!! About Hinata, she'll have a bigger role in Book 3. Heh, cool! You have your own shop! Newayz, Thanks for reviewing!!

**Lemmings12**: Yes, they have to get used to their new power a bit, but all it really does is give them a whole lot more Chakra, power and speed, and also a few ancient techniques… Which will make their appearances in Book 3… Thanks for the review!

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The fluid motion of the hand seals came to his eyes as he saw which technique Gaara was going to perform. While it was a last resort when more allies were with you, in a situation like this it could mean something totally different. Yukio had already jumped through the massive amount of sand Gaara had dumped on her. Naruto looked sideways at Gaara in despair. Despite yelling at Gaara not to do it, he could do nothing as he watched as Gaara already finished the seals and stated.

"Shinken!!"

**There Where When is Now**

Chapter 22

Naruto's breathing stopped for a little while, until he saw Gaara drop to the ground. 'Damn, even though he has a lot more Chakra now, that Jutsu still has the same after-effect… I'm really on my own now…'

Naruto turned to look at Yukio, who seemed to be twitching all over her body. Naruto's eyes widened. "It… It seems it's working! Though she can still move a little bit…"

"**You fucking imbecile!! What did you do to my body!!**" Yukio growled, anger clearly showing.

Naruto chuckled shortly. 'She can't move, but she can still see and talk it seems… It's good thing it wasn't the other way around… But I have no time to waste…' Naruto walked towards Yukio while gathering his Chakra. 'Maybe I need to use all of my Chakra against her…'

Yukio's eyes widened as she saw what Naruto was going to do, seeing Rasengans all over his body. "**Boy… Don't do this!! That technique won't work on me anyway!! I'll spare your life if you let me go now!**"

Naruto snorted. "Heh, shut up." Naruto closed his eyes, before fully opening them and yelling "Rasengan Funka!!"

Yukio screamed her lungs out, literally, as Naruto performed the most devastating Rasengan unleashing he had ever performed. Naruto was gritting his teeth as he felt his Chakra reduce in a fast rate. 'I'm putting all my Chakra in this one…'

The scene was too much for the Genins, as they saw Naruto literally burn Yukio's entire body. Yukio's arms were as thin as they could be and black as well. Blood was pouring everywhere and Naruto had a lot of Yukio's blood on him as well.

Jiraiya looked wide-eyed at the Rasengan showdown. 'An attack like that takes a huge amount of Chakra… Not to mention perfect Chakra-control… He's shooting Rasengans from every Chakra hole on his body!'

The night grew darker again, seeing that Naruto ran out of Chakra and stopped lighting up the skies with his Rasengans. Naruto dropped to his knees. 'I'm out… I hope we did it…' He took one last glance at the unconscious Gaara before he blacked out...

Kakashi sighed in relief and walked towards the two fallen Shinobis and the fallen Yukio… 'There's now way any Shinobi could have survived that… What a horrible technique you possess, Naruto… I bet you've beaten the Kyuubi with the same one…'

Jiraiya was also entering the battlefield and nodded to Kakashi once, before coming to a stop at Naruto's and Gaara's bodies. "Heh, they're alive…" Jiraiya turned around to look at Tsunade. "Oy, Tsunade! You better take a look at these two!"

And then purple Chakra suddenly filled the area again. Jiraiya and Kakashi both looked shocked and surprised to see Yukio, heal herself with Chakra again. "**Don't think… you've won…**" She panted.

Kakashi noticed her Chakra didn't manage to heal her completely, but jumped back nonetheless, as did Jiraiya. "You… You don't have enough Chakra left to be able to continue the fight. Right now, we stand a chance of beating you."

Yukio growled as she tried to stand up, but failed. '**Damn it… That brat really did me in… Ugh…**' Blood poured down from her mouth as she started coughing and closed her eyes to bear with the pain in her throat as she coughed..

And then, as she opened her eyes, she saw Jiraiya with two Rasengans in his hands and Kakashi with a Chidori. Yukio still panted as she looked at the two of them, before Sasuke appeared next to Kakashi with his Chidori and she found herself even more unable to move. Shikamaru had a Shadow Bind on her.

"Heh, you don't have enough Chakra left now… not enough to get out of my Shadow Bind, anyway…" Shikamaru said.

Soon enough, Tsunade was picking up Naruto and Gaara and was standing next to Jiraiya.

"You've caused us all great grief, woman… You destroyed our entire Village and took lives while doing so…" Tsunade said, before she nodded her head towards Jiraiya, Sasuke and Kakashi, who all released their techniques on the woman… ultimately destroying everything that was her…

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There was no darkness, even with his eyes closed there wasn't. Usually when he woke up, it was dark all around him. But now, a bright light was above him, managing to shine through his closed eyes. As Naruto opened his eyes he found himself in a bed with white sheets, white pillow… white everything. He yawned for about ten seconds before he scanned his surroundings. 'A hospital room…' He sighed in relief. 'This can only mean we've beaten her.' Naruto smiled as he felt that most of his Chakra was back again. All of his Chakra. No longer was there such a thing as Kyuubi's Chakra… now it was just… his. It was an odd feeling, not having a demon inside of you anymore. A feeling not many people could sympathize with. Naruto chuckled freely as he flexed the muscles in his arms, feeling the power that they held.

Naruto looked sideways at Gaara, who was still asleep. 'At least he's breathing. I can't believe the Shinken worked on that woman, that demon. She could have easily sidestepped the Chakra Gaara shot at her. It was pure luck that we won… but we won, and that's what matters, I guess…'

In another bed on his other side, was Lee. Judging from the way he was all bandaged up, he probably had broken a few bones. In a bed further ahead, he spotted Asuma Sarutobi, who was lying differently than Gaara, Lee and him, as he was lying on his stomach. 'He must have a severe wound on his back.'

Naruto decided to get back to sleep, but a sudden sound of a door opening stopped him. Naruto cracked his eyes open again to see Gai and Ten-Ten walk in. He watched as they walked up to Lee.

"Heh, finally came to visit, ey, Gai?" A voice suddenly came. Naruto was surprised it was Asuma's. 'He was awake? Damn, I'm still not fully healed, otherwise I would have noticed he was awake…' Naruto thought and groaned slightly as his head still hurt a bit.

"Asuma! So you're awake already?" Gai replied.

Asuma grunted. "I've been awake the entire time! I can't get to sleep lying in this position. I always sleep on my back or on my side. Never on my stomach. Besides, it's only a little burn."

Gai laughed. "She did hit you hard with her Technique, Asuma-san… You might want to check that wound in the mirror. It isn't pretty to watch. Hokage-sama managed to heal most of it, but it still looks awful."

Asuma simply snorted. "Heh, I just want to get out of this awkward position. Care to release me, Gai?"

Gai shook his head. "No! Hokage-sama told me you should stay that way for at least another day!" He said as Ten-Ten shook her head.

Asuma groaned in his pillow. "Another day?!"

"Gai-san."

Gai and Ten-Ten both turned to look at Naruto, who had called Gai's name. Naruto sluggishly went from a lying position to a seated one. "Care to fill me in on what happened since I blacked out?"

Gai smiled and nodded. "Of course, Naruto-kun. I don't know what technique Gaara used, but apparently it stopped that woman's movements. And then you performed that Rasengan rain on her, completely ripped her apart and burning her. It is such a devastating attack, Naruto-kun. But it wasn't enough to stop her, though."

Naruto's eyes widened. 'It wasn't?! So if we hadn't gone for Gaara's strategy, using the Shinken, we could have lost?'

Gai continued. "But it was enough to force her to use all of her Chakra to heal herself. However, as she finished, she didn't have enough Chakra left to be able to face all of us… I think you can guess what happened…"

Naruto chuckled in relief. "Heh, so she's dead now?"

Gai nodded. "Yes, we have managed to survive this big war. Thanks to you, thanks to Gaara, thanks to everyone…"

Naruto let himself fall on his bed again. "I'm glad."

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"…So, we tried everything we could to even try and hit her… But she just hit us right back, harder and faster!" Lee was explaining to Naruto how the battle went before he arrived.

Naruto understood that the Shinobis who were fighting Yukio had all given her their best. Akimichi Chouji had used all of his pills, gaining a lot of power and speed, but was still beaten. Sasuke had gone to Curse Seal level 2 and got defeated as well. Lee, Gai and Mokito, the woman whose name Lee didn't know but Naruto did, had opened all of their Gates and they were still not enough.

Lee stopped talking as he noticed the door was opening. Naruto smiled as Tsunade and Jiraiya walked in.

"Glad to see you three are awake." Tsunade said cheerily, before walking towards the still unconscious Gaara.

"Hehe, Naruto! You got your ass kicked!" Jiraiya said with a big grin. "How are you doing now?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Jiraiya. "As I have heard, you got YOUR ass kicked as well, Ero-Sennin. And I'm fine, I'm ready to leave this place, baa-chan!" He said, aiming the last part of the sentence of Tsunade. Jiraiya was glaring at Naruto.

"Same here!" Another voice came. "Hokage-sama! Could you just release me?"

Tsunade smiled as she her hand was on Gaara's stomach, blue Chakra glowing around it. "Yeah, yeah, Asuma, Naruto. You both are free to go. You're not, Lee. Though these injuries aren't as bad as before, as now you've broken a lot less bones than all those years ago…"

"When will Gaara wake up, Baa-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Probably tomorrow. He used the Death Shield, didn't he? The Shinken." Tsunade asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah…"

Tsunade nodded back. "I thought so… I am a medic specialist and I can almost heal everything. But the state Gaara is in… Usually the Shinken makes the user unconscious for three days at least… But from what I sense as I put my hand on him, he should be ok tomorrow already. It's probably because the both of you have so much Chakra inside of you now… You too, should have recovered at the earliest tomorrow night. And yet you already woke up this morning…"

Naruto grinned. "I've always been a fast healer."

As Tsunade removed all the bandages around Asuma, Naruto turned to leave. As he opened the door, he stood face to face with Neji.

"Naruto, we need to talk."

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Naruto sadly looked in front of him as he and Neji were eating Ramen. "So, they've left already?"

Neji nodded. "Yes. They… We… were never ones to say goodbye, remember? Besides, there is now way they can stay in this Village, you know?" Neji looked around him, and to be sure activated his Byakugan, before he started mentioning names. "Dareda and Itachi, the both of them have killed many people in this Village. Sinobi Raidou has been killed. Kisame is also one of the most wanted missing-nins and Mokito… Well, you know her relationship to Konoha…"

Naruto sadly nodded. "I know, I know."

"So, are you going to stay in Leaf Village, or are you going to run after them?"

Naruto considered it over and looked at Neji. "It was always fun with them, wasn't it? But I guess our little Mercenary Group is no more… What will you do, Neji?"

Neji smiled. "I will stay in Leaf Village. I want to stay here."

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Staring at the ceiling always allowed her to think about the things that had happened in her own life. From when she had become a Genin to where she was now. How Naruto and Sasuke both left Leaf Village, leaving her to be the only remaining member of Team 7 with Kakashi as the Instructor, who didn't have time for her as he tried to get his own students back all the next years after the two left.

She thought of how Tsunade and Kurenai had trained her. Kurenai had been the teacher of her and Hinata and that's how she came in contact with Hinata, as they both fought for being the best in Genjutsu. After having mastered Genjutsu as best as she could, she asked Lee and Gai to help her in TaiJutsu. But both of them didn't really have a lot of time for her, not even Lee. Luckily, one day she encountered Anko. Such a coincidence Ino was also taking lessons from her.

Taking the Chuunin Exam again, she watched as Lee, Ten-Ten and Shino easily passed it. The Chuunin Exam after that she finally passed it, as did Kiba, Ino, Chouji and Hinata. The year after that, still being trained by Anko and Tsunade, she watched Lee, Shikamaru and Ten-Ten went to take the Jounin Exams. There were two options to become Jounin, she had learned from talking to Kakashi once. One was to just take the difficult Jounin Exam, which many people called the easy way and the other way was too have a lot of A-ranked missions, and a lot was a lot.

And after having two years of training and becoming a team with Ino, Chouji, Kiba and Hinata, who was to be the leader, she encountered Uchiha Sasuke in the middle of nowhere. He being a missing-nin meant for them to try and take him back. Even though all of them had grown a lot stronger, someone like Sasuke could only have grown a lot more. The gap between them and him was big so many years ago, but now it was probably a lot bigger. So they just stood there, watching him in awe. Hinata had been the one who started talking, making Sasuke talk right back and tell them they'd die if they would take him on. No question there, really, but when two others appeared, it became life-threatening. Until Sasuke said they weren't worth it and the three of them left.

Weeks passed and then Gaara attacked, right before they managed to reach Gates of the Leaf Village. Gaara was so much stronger and simply toyed with them before leaving. And then the news came of the Akatsuki causing a massive war against all other Villages. Jounins were sent out to try and find traces of the Akatsuki.

Weeks later, Uchiha Sasuke suddenly reached the Gates of Konoha, asking to enter the Village. They let him in. She and Ino had talked to him the day after, telling him they were over him, while in fact, they probably weren't. Sakura shook her head as she was still staring at the ceiling. And then, a Genjutsu was performed on her, a Genjutsu she didn't know! There was no way she would learn it either. It forced her to fall asleep and re-live the last five minutes of her live in her sleep. Very useful, when it comes to attacking an entire Village. It appeared the entire Village had been under that spell. And then, the next day, Naruto was back all of a sudden. And the strength and Chakra that radiated off of him was terrifying.

She had watched the battle of him and Sasuke with wide open eyes. It was such an amazing battle. But the Curse Seal made Sasuke a lot uglier but a lot more powerul, she thought. Naruto had beaten Sasuke. Sasuke had given Naruto his all, while Naruto didn't give Sasuke his all… It was true after all, all those words Naruto had yelled so many years ago… Naruto had truly become the strongest…

And then the Akatsuki arrived and this proved it more; Naruto had gotten terribly powerful. Where they all had failed even hitting the Akatsuki Leader in a weaker State, Naruto and Gaara had beaten her in her most powerful state. Even the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade failed against her, even Jiraiya, who she considered to be the strongest Shinobi, was defeated. Orochimaru was present as well and he got beaten too! This meant Naruto and Gaara were stronger than them!

It was true that the woman had not been completely beaten, but she could no longer continue the fight thanks to Naruto and Gaara, making it a whole lot easier for the others to finish her off. Sakura sighed. Her Genjutsu didn't work at all and her Summon was easily defeated.

'I wonder… what will everyone do now? The war is over… Will Sasuke-kun leave again? Will Naruto leave as well?'

Now the secret of Naruto has been revealed to everyone. The entire village owed Naruto the greatest apology ever… Even after hating him so, he still saved the Village… She definitely would not forget apologizing to him…

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Pulling the sheets off of her body, Ino yawned as long as she could, before taking a look in the mirror. She then moved her gaze towards the sword Sasuke-kun had left behind. After the war was over, one of them vanished and another remained. Ino simply kept the sword, since it was really a difficult one to handle and not just because it was heavy as hell. She didn't even know what this sword was called…

The war really destroyed most of the Village, she was really happy the Yamanaka flower shop was still in one piece. She could imagine the look on Shikamaru's face… his house had been totally wasted away… The Hokage Tower simply was no more, which was mostly Naruto's fault, she added, since he was the one who hit the thing with his lava breath… Really dangerous…

Now was a totally horrible time too, since most of her missions were probably going to be "rebuilding the Village" missions. Most missions for Chuunins were crappy like that. But perhaps Hinata might arrange something so they could do missions outside the Village. But the chances of that happening were slim. Ino picked up her clothes, which were on the ground as she wanted to go to bed real badly the day before.

Walking down the stairs and opening the door to leave the house she could not help thinking how close most Shinobis in the Leaf Village were. Sure, it was only logical every Shinobi jumped down to kill the Akatsuki Leader after Naruto and Gaara presented them the opportunity. But the sense of a good atmosphere, where you're among friends was also there, she noticed. And to be honest it made her feel really good.

Still, in the beginning, all of them were nothing against her as she washed away everyone with one little cloud of Chakra, so to say. Even her Shintenshin had been forced out easily. Her sword skills never reached her as she easily disappeared with that high speed. Even Sakura's summon couldn't make a difference. It was when the Demon Fox appeared and turned into Naruto where everything changed.

Naruto. The boy who she now knew probably had the worst past. Being hated and not knowing why he was hated has to suck. And on top of that, having a demon sealed within you didn't help one bit. Where before she did not even pay the slightest attention to the boy, now she had great respect for him.

But Sasuke-kun. He looked so brave when he shot his Chidori at the Akatsuki Leader, together with all the others who didn't seem to shine as brightly as him. Except for Shikamaru, who bothered to get off his lazy ass and actually secure the victory with his Shadow Bind. Funny how a war changes the most stubborn people…

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Hinata was smiling as she watched her little sister train by herself. She was so much stronger than she was her age. She was glad her father changed a little bit these last days. He is supposed to be harsh, being the Leader of the Main Family of the Hyuga. Hanabi didn't have it easy either, though easier nonetheless.

The Hyuga estate had survived the war mostly, but some areas here and there were slightly… burned. Hyuga Hiashi had done everything he could together with most other Hyuga to defend it. Hyuga Hanabi had been here during the war as well. It was a surprise really, when Hinata's father didn't really mind that Hinata wanted to join the others in battle away from the Hyuga estate. A pleasant surprise, indicating a change in her father.

The defeat of the Akatsuki Leader was really strange… She never knew Naruto had a demon inside of him, even though she had watched him thoroughly all those years ago. Of course she had noticed the depressive boy behind the mask of joy. It was only natural putting up facades, especially for someone who had experienced almost nothing but pain throughout his life. And Hyugas were very perceptive, so it was easy for her to see the real person behind the façade.

But she never expected something terrible like a demon trapped within him. But now she understood what that red Chakra of his really was. It was the Kyuubi's. From what she had learned, it seems Naruto has beaten the Kyuubi, the Nine-tailed Demon. And now Naruto is more than twice as strong as before. Comparing everything that happened yesterday, Naruto and Gaara were probably the strongest Shinobis present. She didn't really think there was another who was just as strong…

She really hoped Naruto would not leave Leaf Village again. And surely, he Villagers won't hate him anymore… she hoped. He's a real threat to all Villages, being so strong. But Naruto controls himself completely. She also hoped Neji would stay in Leaf Village. She really enjoyed it when Neji taught her how to activate the Senshin-Byakugan. It was a lot of work and it was purely instinct, as it could only be activated for the first time during a hard battle.

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Naruto was happy, really happy. He had felt sadness for a little while because he would probably not be seeing Itachi and the others anymore. But he understood their decisions. But he was happy because no longer was the demon Kyuubi inside him. No longer would there be the possibility of Kyuubi breaking out. He was totally free… Now what would he do? Would he leave Leaf Village? Would he stay here and try to live his old life again? Would he become like Jiraiya and just wander around the world? Everything was possible now…

"Dobe…"

Naruto looked up at the familiar face of Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto just looked at him, not grinning, frowning or looking mad at him. "Good morning, Sasuke!" Naruto half yelled and half greeted as he waved his right hand once.

Sasuke didn't smile or look mad either. "Tcheh… I never did really understand you, idiot. But now, I understand a little better… To think all these years you had a demon in you… Honestly, I can't say I'm not impressed. I thought I had it bad…"

Naruto smiled. "Oh, you did have it bad… All those girls running after you while you were only focused on getting stronger… You had to be annoyed, really…"

Sasuke frowned. "Hm. I just wanted to ask you one thing. You know you're a missing-nin, right? Like me. Neji and Gaara are also missing-nins. But, now that this war is over… What are you going to do?"

Naruto sighed. "I don't know. I feel at home here, but at the same time out of place… Neji is going to stay. I don't know about Gaara, since he's still unconscious."

Sasuke nodded. "I see. That move he performed yesterday…"

"The Shinken, it immediately forces the user to go unconscious and the victim to lose all his senses and, like the Kage Mane, to stand still. It was really dangerous, because we weren't sure whether it would have worked. We were lucky." Naruto chuckled.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "I'm staying in Leaf Village too, Naruto. It's the only place where I can grow stronger. Where I can learn not to use the Curse Seal…"

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A day later, Gaara woke up to see Baki, Temari and Kankurou by his bed. It was odd, really, being in a bed and having people watch you. It never really occurred to Gaara and he frowned at the situation.

"Has she been killed?" Was his first question.

Baki smiled. "Yes. You've succeeded, Gaara-sama."

Gaara frowned, not liking being called Gaara-sama. "How long have I been in this state?"

"Two days." Temari answered, making Gaara look at her. She had grown a lot, wore her hair in one big bun while many hairs were in front of her eyes.

Gaara frowned again. 'Two days only? The Shinken effect should have been longer on me…'

"But not two full days. It's safe to say a day and a half, actually." Kankurou added. "The Fifth Hokage helped out with that."

Gaara nodded. 'Even then, a day and a half is not much. On top of that, Itachi told me a medic-nin wouldn't really make a difference. Is this really possible? So this is what it means to have the powers of a demon… on top of your own…'

"Gaara, we're going back to Sand Village in a few days…" Temari started.

Gaara knew what she meant. She wanted him to go with them. And right now… that didn't seem too awful… 'No longer will I be seen as Shukaku. But they will remember. Perhaps this is another chance for me to grasp, to have a life of a Shinobi again… and not that of a missing-nin… Perhaps…'

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"Heh, odd to see you here…"

Neji didn't have to force the smile on his face as he sat next to Shikamaru, who sat next to Chouji. "Hm."

"So how are Naruto and Gaara doing?" Shikamaru asked, ignoring the noise Chouji made with his eating. Shikamaru didn't really want to be quiet in situations where Chouji starts eating, since it would make him hear Chouji more clearly.

"Naruto is already released from the hospital. Gaara is supposed to wake up today." Neji said, after having ordered a few Ramen cups.

"Damn… you're hungry, aren't you?" Shikamaru asked as a lot of bowls were put in front of Neji, on the counter. It was about equal to what Chouji was eating.

Neji smiled. "Oh, it's not only for me… Naruto should be here in a short while…" Neji sighed. "Byakugan!!"

Shikamaru smiled. 'Heh, he's probably lazy too… Activating his Byakugan to see where Naruto is now…'

Neji deactivated his Byakugan and stared at his own cup of Ramen. "It seems Sasuke is joining us as well… We're going to visit Gaara after having eaten here. Care to join us?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Neh, the hospital is pretty far away from here and I'm still tired from the war… Besides, it'll take a long while before Chouji's done eating. He used his Akimichi pills, and he's trying to regain weight again…"

Neji smiled. "Of course."

Just then, Naruto and Sasuke walked in. They went to sit next to Neji. Naruto gave a few bowls of Ramen to Sasuke and began on his own, not even bothering to greet the others as he was more focused on his food. Sasuke shook his head and began eating as well.

"Hiya, Shikamaru! Chouji!" Naruto yelled, after having finished two bowls…

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"I have decided. I am going back with my siblings." Gaara said as he was surprised to have more visitors in the form of Naruto, Neji and Sasuke.

A small smile formed on Naruto's face. 'So everyone's returning to their homes. Even Sasuke wants to stay in Leaf Village.'

"So how's your body doing?" Neji asked.

Gaara took a look at his own chest. "My muscles are still tired. I won't be able to move fully yet for another three hours at least. I consider myself to be the weakest Shinobi right now…"

Naruto laughed. "Ha! You did activate your Shield, right?"

Gaara smiled. "Of course. That one doesn't require any hand seals…"

"I'm staying in Leaf Village. I have no real goal anymore, except to serve and protect Konoha." Neji spoke. "Perhaps we'll meet each other in the future, Gaara. If I have any mission in Sand Village, I'll be sure to look you up."

'To have missions… To become a Jounin, ANBU or… Hokage…' Naruto thought. 'Perhaps I can reach the very first goal I had…'

"Ha! I'm staying in Leaf Village too! And I'll become Hokage!"

Sasuke shook his head. "Tcheh, like someone like you will become Hokage. It isn't all about strength. According to me, you lack intelligence."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "Heh! And you're what, smart?"

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"No, he's already released from the hospital." Sakura said as Ino, who was walking next to her as they were walking towards the Hyuga estate to report to their leader, asked her if they should visit Naruto in the hospital.

"Heh, so what do you think about all that Kyuubi-Naruto business?"

Sakura sighed before answering. "I don't know, Ino. I treated him like dirt most of the time as well."

"Well, you're not the only one. The entire Village did, remember?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes, but will he be able to forgive us for that? He has the full right to kill us all, if you ask me… For what we caused him…"

Ino shuddered. "Better not tell him that. Judging from his newfound power, he just might be able to do just that."

Sakura shuddered in return. "Yeah… So… what kind of mission do you think we'll have today?"

Ino shrugged. "Beats me. Although I'd suspect something along the lines of repairing buildings and stuff."

"Hiya!! Ino!! Sakura!!"

Sakura and Ino looked up to see Kiba and Akamaru descend towards them. They both had no idea where Kiba jumped off of, since there were no standing buildings around where they were walking, but Kiba was known to be able to jump unbelievably high. "Ohayo, Kiba!" They both greeted back.

"Ok, how much do we bet today on Chouji being late again?" He began.

"Oh, today he'll be late for sure!" Ino responded. "He used the Akimichi pills two days ago, remember? He'll eat as much and as often as he can for about a week, otherwise he won't be able to get his old body back, which I wouldn't want in a million years, by the way!"

Kiba cracked a smile while Akamaru barked a laugh. "Heh! Yeah, that's true! But you gotta appreciate him; he's one strong guy when he does use the pills."

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Naruto was walking homewards with a grin on his face. 'I'm going to become Hokage, I'm going to become Hokage, I'm going to become Hokage, I'm going to become Hokage…'

Naruto smiled as he suddenly stopped walking and simply disappeared…

Kakashi wasn't really surprised as Naruto appeared behind him, while he was standing on a roof. "Hmm, you've improved so much, Naruto. I wonder what the Hokage will say about it."

Naruto frowned. 'Oh shit, of course! Maybe the old lady won't even allow me to stay in this Village!'

Kakashi continued. "Anyway, she ordered me to tell you should report to her tomorrow."

Naruto nodded. "I understand!"

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask. "I wanted to say thank you too, Naruto. For helping out in the Akatsuki war."

"Aah, don't sweat it! We had a blast!" Naruto replied. "Well, we almost died… but… that doesn't really matter, does it?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Every day we have a chance of dieing… Why care about it, really?"

Naruto shook his head and smiled . "Ne, ne… Do you have to be Jounin to be able to become Hokage?"

Kakashi laughed shortly. "Yes. So, you're staying in Leaf Village?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes, I will become Hokage!"

"Ooh? So after being a missing-nin for five years, you'll just become Hokage?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "What!? What? Can't I become Hokage because I was a Missing-nin?"

"It's pretty difficult not to be a missing-nin anymore…"

Naruto groaned.

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Tsunade, who had called for Baki, Temari, Kankurou, Gaara, Naruto, Sasuke and Neji, was gazing at them with an expressionless face, though she had to hold back the grin badly. Of course, she was proud of Naruto and Gaara. Neji and Sasuke also meant a lot in the battle and it was nice to have a few Sand allies helping around. Though against the leader that wouldn't make a difference at all. Without Naruto and Gaara they'd have lost everything. Itachi was about the only Shinobi she saw who could actually come close to really hurting the woman.

She was glad Itachi, Dareda and the others left, because otherwise it would've been even worse, another fight after the war. The one where Sasuke spots Itachi… But that didn't happen. Orochimaru had disappeared without a trace too. She was glad for that as well, since Sasuke also had issues with him and of course, vice versa. To quote the one who whined the most in Leaf Village: It was really troublesome.

"Ok, I hope you all can guess why I called for you… here." Tsunade stated as she looked around at the debris that was once the Hokage Tower.

Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head, remembering that it was actually him that really destroyed the Tower.

Tsunade continued. "As you all should know, you're missing-nins." Tsunade paused. "Except for you three, of course." She said, looking at Temari, Kankurou and Baki.

Naruto, Neji, Sasuke and Gaara nodded, motioning for Tsunade to continue.

"Because you helped save the Leaf Village and helped secure the defeat of the Akatsuki, I am offering you the chance to reinstate yourselves as Shinobis of your Villages." She looked at Gaara. "For you it's different, since you'll have to arrange all this with the Kazekage."

Baki coughed once, before talking. "Well, we don't have a Kazekage for the time being… The Akatsuki murdered the Kazekage a few months ago… Since then the Council of Sand Village has arranged all. Although I don't think it'll be a problem to let Gaara back in Sand Village. He no longer has the Shukaku inside of him."

Tsunade nodded. "Anyway, be that as it may, if the Council does not allow you back, you are welcome here, Gaara." Tsunade paused. "Now, then. What do you four choose to do from now on?"

"I will offer Leaf Village my best. I wish to return." Neji said, bowing to the Hokage.

Naruto simply smiled. "I'm going to stay too, baa-chan!" He said, not bowing, which made Tsunade shake her head but also a smile.

"I will stay, too." Sasuke let out, not bowing either.

"I will return to the Sand Village." Gaara spoke.

Tsunade smiled. "That's all I needed to know. But you four are STILL Chuunins. If you want to become Jounin, you'll have to take the Jounin Exam like everyone else, or do a lot of missions. Now, all of you are dismissed."

All of them nodded and walked away from the debris.

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End Book 2

Author's Note: Well? I hope you liked it! I really do! I'll start on Book 3 tomorrow night, I think. Book 3 will have pairing, btw. Oh, just one question about something or rather, someone, that really troubles me…

Gaara: Should the Council of the Sand refuse Gaara to return to Sand Village and force him to become a Konoha Shinobi? Or should he just be accepted as a Sand Shinobi and build his Shinobi career there?

Book 3 will have small Time-Jump… Small, I think a few months, actually. Oh, I remember something! There's a Fanfiction Elimination going on! It's on http : www . geocities . com / bikifriend / main (without all the spaces… FFN won't allow any Html-codes and all that) and you should also check out the Bakakage Forums, which can be found, naturally at Bakakage.com. Errr… that was it!

I really hope you liked it! Next Book will be more Humor, or a pitiful attempt at it anyway. I'm not good at Humor writing… It's the same for Romance, but you have to have tried everything once, right? Well, almost everything…

Anyway, many thanks for reading this Book!! I hope you liked it! Please R&R!


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